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A BOOK OF 
FAIRY-TALE 

BEARS 

SELECTIONS FROM FAVORITE 
FOLK-LORE STORIES 
EDITED BY 
CLIFTON JOHNSON 
ILLUSTRATED BY 
FRANK A. NANKIVELL 



BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
(Ifie Cambridge 

1913 


COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY CLIFTON JOHNSON 


ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 


Published September XQ13 


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CAMBRIDGE • MASSACHUSETTS 
U . S . A 


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CONTENTS 


SOURCE 

The Three Bears .... England 
The Bear and the Skrattel . Norway 
Snow-White and Rose-red and the Big 

Black Bear Grimm 

The Bears and the Magician 

American Indian 

Grandsire Bear and Reynard the Fox 

Norway 

The Young Hunters and the Bears 

American Indian 
The Bear and the Wrens . . . Grimm 

The Bear and the Two Huntsmen 

La Fontaine 

Bruin Outwitted .... Norway 
The Bear’s Bad Bargain" . . . India 

The Bear in a Forest Pitfall . . Norway 

A Bear Story America 


1 

11 

31 

49 

59 

65 

81 

89 

95 

99 

111 

119 


VI 


Contents 


The Bear who was an Enchanted King 

Norway 123 

The Bear and the Little Old Woman Russia 143 
How Bruin Tried to Bring Reynard to 
Court . . . . . . . France 149 

The Bees and the Bears American Indian 161 

Bruin’s Ride Norway 167 

The Bear and the Tailor . . . Grimm 175 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Golden Hair and the Three Bears (p. 9) 

Frontispiece ^ 

The Fight between the Bear and the 

Skrattel 24 

The Bear comes to the Aid of the Maidens 46 U' 
The Fox had handed the Bear a Hornet’s 

Nest 62 

The Bear snuffs the Prostrate Hunter . 92 
The Old Woodman talks with the Bear . . 104 

The Bear gnaws the Old Woman’s Shoe . 146 ^ 
The Beggar Woman asks for a Penny .170 


From drawings by Frank A. Nankivell 



THE THREE BEARS 



A BOOK OF FAIKY-TALE 
BEAKS 

THE THREE BEARS 

O NCE upon a time there were three 
bears who lived together in a house of 
their own in a wood. One of them was a big 
bear, and one was a middle-sized bear, and 
the other was a little bear. They each had a 
bowl for their porridge — a big bowl for the 
big bear, a middle-sized bowl for the middle- 
sized bear, and a little bowl for the little bear. 
And they each had a chair to sit in — a big 
chair for the big bear, a middle-sized chair 
for the middle-sized bear, and a little chair 
for the little bear. Besides, they each had a 
bed to sleep in — a big bed for the big bear, 
a middle-sized bed for the middle-sized bear, 
and a little bed for the little bear. 


4 Fairy-Tale Bears 

On the borders of the wood lived a little 
girl named Golden Hair, and she liked to 
walk in the wood to pick the pretty flowers 
that grew there. Usually she did not go far 
from home after the flowers, but one warm, 
pleasant day she rambled on and on, picking 
blossoms here and there, until she was much 
deeper in the wood than she had ever been 
before. 

‘‘Now I must go back,” Golden Hair said 
at last. “ I did n’t intend to come such a long 
way, and I’m tired and hungry.” 

Just then she looked on ahead up the lonely 
hollow into which she had wandered, and 
there among the trees was as nice a little 
house as she had ever seen. 

“I did n’t know that any one lived here 
in the wood,” Golden Hair said. “I will go 
and And out whose house this is.” 

So she went to the door and rapped, but 
she got no response. 

“Well,” she said, “the people that live 


5 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

here can’t be far away, for there is smoke 
coming out of the chimney. I think I will 
step in, if the door is n’t locked.” 

She lifted the latch, and the door was not 
locked, and she went in and looked about. 
At one side of the room she had entered was 
a fireplace in which a log and some smaller 
sticks were smouldering. On a table were 
three bowls of porridge — a big bowl, and 
a middle-sized bowl, and a little bowl. 

“The people who live in this house have 
set the table for dinner, I think,” Golden 
Hair said. “If they were here I’m sure they 
would invite me to eat with them. Oh, how 
hungry I am ! I wonder if they would care 
if I ate some of their porridge without wait- 
ing till they come. I will taste it, any- 
way.” 

So she went to the table and took a spoon- 
ful of porridge from the big bowl. 

“ This is too hot,” she said. “ I will try the 
next.” 


6 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

Then she took a spoonful of porridge from 
the middle-sized bowl. 

‘‘And this is too cold/’ she said. 

Then she took a spoonful of porridge from 
the little bowl, and that was neither too hot 
nor too cold, but was just right, and she ate 
it all up. 

“Now I must sit down to rest for a 
while,” Golden Hair said. 

Along the wall were three chairs — a big 
chair, a middle-sized chair, and a little chair. 
She tried the big chair, but it was too hard 
for her. 

“Dear me!” Golden Hair said, “this chair 
won’t do at all. I will try the next.” 

Then she sat down in the middle-sized 
chair, and that was too soft for her. So she 
tried the little chair, and that was neither 
too hard nor too soft, but was just right. She 
had settled herself in it to enjoy a good rest 
when crack! smash! the chair broke, and 
Golden Hair tumbled to the floor. 


7 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

“That was a nice little chair/’ she said as 
she picked herself up. “I’m sorry it is broken. 
How am I to rest now? I don’t like the other 
chairs. Perhaps I had better lie down and 
have a nap. I must see where the beds are,” 

There was another room adjoining the one 
in which Golden Hair had eaten the little 
bowl of porridge and broken the little chair. 
She went into it and found three beds — a big 
bed, and a middle-sized bed, and a little bed. 

“I’m all right now,” Golden Hair said; 
and she tried the largest bed, but it was too 
high at the head for her. Then she tried the 
middle-sized bed, and that was too high at 
the foot for her. Lastly she tried the little 
bed, and that was neither too high at the 
head nor too high at the foot, but was just 
right. She lay down on it, covered herself 
up, and fell fast asleep. 

Meanwhile, where were the three bears? 
Shortly before Golden Hair rambled into the 
glen where they lived, they had cooked their 


8 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

porridge for dinner and set it on the table. 
Then they had gone out for a little walk to 
give the porridge time to cool. Golden Hair 
was asleep when the bears came home. As 
soon as they entered the kitchen and looked 
at the table they saw that things were not 
as they had left them. 

‘‘SOMEBODY HAS BEEN TASTING 
MY PORRIDGE!” the big bear growled in 
his great gruff voice. 

“And somebody has been tasting my 
porridge!” the middle-sized bear said. 

And somebody has been tasting my por- 
ridge and eaten it all the little bear 

piped. 

“ We will look around,” they said, “and see 
if there has been any more meddling.” 

“SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING 
IN MY CHAIR!” the big bear growled in 
his great gruff voice. 

“And somebody has been sitting in my 
chair!” the middle-sized bear said. 


9 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

And somebody has been sitting in my chair 
and broken it all to 'pieces!’^ the little bear 
piped. 

Then they went into their bedroom. 
“SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING ON 
MY BED ! ” the big bear growled in his great 
gruflf voice. 

“And somebody has been lying on my 
bed!” the middle-sized bear said. 

“And somebody has been lying on my bed, 
and here she isT^ the little bear piped. 

The voice of the little bear was so sharp 
and shrill it awakened Golden Hair at once. 
She sat bolt upright and stared at the three 
bears, and they stared at her. They were 
standing in a row on one side of the bed, and 
Golden Hair tumbled herself out at the other 
side before they could catch her. Luckily 
the window was open, and out she leaped. 
Then she ran home as fast as she could go, 
and she never again went near the place 
where the three bears lived. 



THE BEAR AND THE SKRATTEL' 


t 


THE BEAR AND THE SKRATTEL 


O NE Christmas Day, when the king of 
Norway was feasting in the great hall 
of his palace, he proposed that a present 
should be sent to the King of Denmark as 
a pledge of his good will. ‘‘But what shall it 
be.^^” he asked. 

Then spoke Anders, the king’s chief hunts- 
man. “Your Majesty,” he said, “let the 
present be one of our handsome white bears, 
that the king of Denmark and his people 
may see the sort of creatures with which we 
play.” 

“Are you sure that a bear can be sent on 
so long a journey?” asked the king, “and is 
there any certainty that he would behave 
himself after he reached the Danish "court?” 

“Yes,” Anders responded, “for I have a 
fellow as white as snow that I caught when 
he was a cub, and he will follow me where- 


14 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

ever I go, play with my children, stand on his 
hind legs, and conduct himseK as properly as 
any gentleman. I will take him to Denmark 
myself, if you choose.” 

The king was much pleased, and he ordered 
Anders to set off with his snow-white bear as 
promptly as possible. 

So early the next morning Anders roused 
Bruin, put the king’s collar round his neck, 
and away they went over rocks and moun- 
tains, and across valleys and plains, the near- 
est road to the court of the king of Denmark. 
It was bright weather, the sun shone, and the 
birds sang, and they traveled merrily on day 
after day till they had almost reached their 
journey’s end. Then they came to a gloomy 
forest through which they tramped all one 
afternoon. Toward evening the wind began 
to whistle through the trees, and the clouds 
gathered and threatened a stormy night. 
The road, too, was very rough, and both 
Bruin and his master were exceedingly 


15 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

weary. What made matters worse was the 
fact that they had found no wayside inn that 
day, and as they had not been able to buy 
food they had eaten nearly all the scanty 
supply they carried with them. 

“A pretty affair this ! ” Anders said. “ Here 
I am in this lonely forest with an empty 
stomach, a bear for my companion, and the 
prospect of a wet bed.” 

The wind increased in violence, the clouds 
grew darker, and Bruin shook his ears un- 
easily. Anders was at his wits’ end, when a 
woodman came whistling out of the forest, 
walking beside his horse, which dragged a 
load of fagots. The traveler stopped him 
and asked for a night’s lodging for himself 
and his bear. Yet, though the woodman 
seemed hearty and good-natured enough, 
and was quite ready to provide shelter for 
the huntsman, he never had seen such a crea- 
ture as the bear before in his life, and would 
have nothing to do with him on any terms. 


16 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

Anders begged hard for his friend, and told 
how he was bringing him as a present to the 
king of Denmark, and how the bear was the 
most good-natured, best-behaved animal in 
the world. 

The woodman, however, was not to be 
moved. He was sure that his wife would not 
like such a guest, and who could say what 
the bear might take it into his head to do? 
Moreover, their dog and their cat, their 
ducks and their geese would all run away for 
fright, whether the bear was disposed to be 
friendly with them or not. “No,” he said 
in conclusion, “if you and old shaggy-back 
cannot part, you must spend the night in the 
forest, though you will have a sad time of it, 
no doubt.” 

Then he cracked his whip, clucked to his 
horse, and set off once more on his way 
homeward. The huntsman grumbled, and 
Bruin grunted as they resumed their plod- 
ding along the rough road. But the wood- 


17 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

man had not gone far when he stopped his 
horse and again addressed Anders. “I think 
I can tell you a better plan than sleeping 
under a tree,” he said. “I know where you 
can find shelter, if you will run the risk 
of getting into trouble with a mischievous 
skrattel who has taken up his abode in what 
used to be my house down the hill yonder. I 
lived in it until last winter, and everything 
had been going smoothly with us for a long 
time, but one unlucky night, when the storm 
blew as it seems likely to do to-night, that 
spiteful imp took it into his head to visit us. 
The house has ever since been in an uproar 
from midnight till the cock crows in the 
morning. Clattering footsteps run up and 
down the stairs and there are many other 
strange disturbing noises. 

“What the skrattel is like no one knows. 
We have never seen him, nor have we seen 
anything belonging to him, except a queer 
little high-heeled shoe that he left one night 


18 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

in the pantry. But though we have not seen 
him we know he has a hand as heavy as lead, 
for when he chooses to thump anybody, 
down goes that person as if the blacksmith’s 
hammer had hit him. 

“There was no end to the goblin’s monkey 
tricks. If the linen was hung out to dry, he 
cut the line. If he wanted a cup of ale he 
left the tap running. If the fowls were shut 
up he let them loose. He would drive the 
pig into the garden, ride on the cows, turn 
the horses into the hay-yard; and several 
times he nearly burned the house down by 
leaving a lighted candle among the fagots. 

“He is astonishingly active and nimble. 
Sometimes, when he is once in motion, no- 
thing stands still around him. Dishes and 
plates, pots and pans, dance about, making 
a dreadful sort of music, and breaking each 
other to pieces. The chairs and tables, too, 
act as if they were alive and were dancing a 
hornpipe or playing some wild game together. 


19 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

Nor is it of any use putting things in order, 
for the imp would quickly turn everything 
upside down again. 

‘‘ My wife and I bore such a lodger as long 
as we could, but at length we were fairly 
beaten; and as he seemed determined to stay 
permanently in the house we thought it best 
to give him full possession. The little rascal 
knew what we were about when we were pre- 
paring to move, and seemed to be in a hurry 
to get rid of us. So he helped us off ; for on the 
morning we were to start, when we got up in- 
tending to load the wagon, there it was before 
the door with the goods on it. As we drove 
away we heard a loud laugh; and a sharp lit- 
tle voice cried out of a window, ‘ Good-bye, 
neighbors ! ’ 

‘‘Well, he has the old house to himself 
now, and can play his pranks as he pleases. 
We have built a snug cottage for ourselves 
on the other side of the hill. It is smaller and 
less comfortable than the old house, but we 


20 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

shall not go back while that skrattel is there. 
However, if you and your companion choose 
to run the hazard, you are quite welcome to 
the shelter; and it may be the imp is not at 
home to-night.” 

‘‘We will try our luck,” Anders said; “for 
anything is better than sleeping out of doors 
such a night as this. We may have to fight 
for our lodging, but never mind — Bruin 
will take a hand in any quarrel that arises, 
and the goblin will perhaps get rougher 
treatment from him than your house dog 
could give. My comrade will at any rate let 
the skrattel know what a bear’s hug is.” 

Then the woodman gave Anders a fagot 
with which to make a fire, and wished him 
a good-night. The travelers soon found their 
way to the deserted house and went into 
the kitchen and started a fire. 

“Lack-a-day !” Anders said, “I forgot one 
thing — I ought to have asked that good man 
for some supper. All I have left is a little 


21 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

dry bread. But I am glad we shall not be 
obliged to sleep in the woods. We will eat 
what food we have, keep ourselves warm, 
and get to bed as soon as we can.’’ 

So after eating all their crusts, and drink- 
ing some water from the well in the yard, 
the huntsman wrapped himself in his cloak, 
and lay down at the back of the kitchen. 
Bruin curled up in a corner of the wide fire- 
place, and both he and his master were soon 
sound asleep. 

Midnight came. The fire was out, and 
everything was quiet in the house, but out- 
side a storm was raging. Presently in popped 
an ugly little skrattel not much more than 
two feet high, with a humped back, a face 
like a dried pippin, and a nose like a ripe 
mulberry. He wore high-heeled shoes and 
a pointed cap. On his shoulder he carried a 
nice fat kid skinned and ready for roasting. 

‘‘A rough night this,” thegoblin grumbled, 
‘‘but thanks to that booby woodman I have 


22 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

a house to myself; and now I ’ll prepare a hot 
supper and have a glass of good ale.” 

He at once got busy, and soon the fire 
blazed up, and the kid was put on a spit, and 
the roasting began. When the meat was suf- 
ficiently roasted the skrattel transferred it 
to a covered dish, which he set in a nook of 
the fireplace to keep warm till he had the 
table ready. Next he rolled a keg of ale from 
the closet, drank a glass, and then, in the 
joy of his heart, rubbed his hands, tossed up 
his red cap, and danced and sang before the 
hearth. 

Meanwhile the huntsman had waked up, 
and was lying very quiet looking on from 
the back of the room. Sometimes he quaked 
with fear, and sometimes he licked his lips at 
thought of the savory supper the skrattel 
had prepared and was half minded to fight 
for its possession. 

Suddenly the skrattel observed Bruin 
lying fast asleep rolled up like a ball in the 


23 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

chimney-corner. He at once went closer and 
looked at the bear very sharply, doubtful 
what he really was. “One of the family, I 
suppose,” the skrattel said to himself. 

Just then Bruin gave his ears a shake and 
showed a little of his snout. “ Oho ! ” the imp 
exclaimed. “I see what it is. It’s a mouse; 
but what a large one ! Where could he have 
come from.f^ Shall I let him alone or drive 
him out.^ Perhaps he may do me some mis- 
chief, but I am not afraid of rats and mice. 
I have driven away every other living thing 
out of the house, and this brute shall follow 
them without any more delay. So here 
goes.” 

The elf took up the spit he had used in 
roasting the kid, and brought it down with 
a rousing thump on the bear’s head. Bruin 
raised himself slowly up, snorted, and shook 
himself. Then he walked across the room 
and back, and grinned at his enemy. The 
skrattel, somewhat alarmed, retreated a few 


24 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

paces, and stood with the spit in his hand 
prepared for a rough attack. It soon came. 
The bear reared up, walked leisurely forward, 
and caught hold of the spit with one of his 
paws. He jerked it from the goblin’s hand, 
and sent it spinning to the other end of the 
kitchen. 

A fierce battle ensued. This way and that 
flew tables and chairs, and pots and pans. 
The elf was one moment on the bear’s back 
pulling his ears and pummeling his body with 
fists and heels; and a moment later the bear 
had thrown the skrattel up in the air, and 
when he came down treated him with a hug 
that made the little imp squall. Then the 
skrattel would jump up on one of the beams 
out of Bruin’s reach; and soon, watching 
his chance, would leap down astride of the 
bear’s neck. 

Meantime Anders had become sadly fright- 
ened. Presently he Observed that the oven 
door was open, and he crept in for shelter 



SKRATTEL 





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25 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

from the fray and lay there anxious and 
trembling. The struggle went on for a long 
time, and it was not at all clear who would 
be the winner. The whole house rang with 
the noise of the biting, scratching, snarling, 
screeching, growling, and pounding. At last, 
however, the elf seemed to be growing weaker. 
The rivals had paused for a moment to get 
breath, and the bear was about to attack again 
when the skrattel dashed his red cap right 
in the bear’s eyes, and while Bruin was half- 
blinded and smarting with the blow, the imp 
darted to the door and was gone from sight in- 
to the night, though the wind blew in a gusty 
gale, and the rain was falling in torrents. 

“Well done! Bravo, Bruin!” the hunts- 
man cried, as he crawled out of the oven and 
ran and bolted the door. “ You have combed 
that fellow’s locks finely, though you your- 
seK are also rather the worse for the battle. 
But come, let us make the best of the good 
cheer our friend has left us.” 


26 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

Accordingly, they set the overturned table 
on its legs, put the room somewhat to rights, 
brought the roasted kid from the nook of the 
fireplace where it had escaped harm, and 
enjoyed a hearty feast. When they finished, 
the huntsman jovially wished the skrattel 
a good-night and pleasant dreams, and lay 
down and slept till sunrise. Bruin slept also, 
as well as his aching bones would let him. 

In the morning the huntsman made ready 
to continue on his journey. Scarcely had he 
set foot on the highway when he met the 
woodman, who eagerly inquired how he 
had passed the night. Anders described the 
elf, and told how the bear had vanquished 
him. “I fancy,” Anders said in conclusion, 
‘‘that you are now well rid of the gentleman. 
He is not likely to come where he thinks he 
runs the risk of getting any more of Bruin’s 
hugs. If we have driven away the skrattel 
you are amply rewarded for your entertain- 
ment of us, which, to tell the truth, was none 


27 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

of the best; for if your ugly little tenant had 
not brought his supper with him we should 
have empty stomachs this morning.” 

So saying, the huntsman and Bruin, his 
fellow traveler, journeyed on. Let us hope 
they reached the king of Denmark safely, 
but as to their further adventures I know 
nothing. 

The woodman, in the days that followed, 
kept sharp watch of his old house to deter- 
mine whether the skrattel would return, or 
whether the bear had thoroughly frightened 
him out of his former haunt. Three nights 
passed, and the house showed no traces of 
the skrattel’s having revisited it, and the 
woodman began to think of moving back. 
On the fourth day, while at work in the for- 
est, a chilly scud of sleet and rain drove him 
to the shelter of a tree. As he stood there 
leaning against the tree-trunk he heard a 
little cracked voice singing, or rather croaking, 
for the singer’s tone and the words of the 


28 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

song were equally mournful. The woodman 
crept quietly along in the direction whence 
the sound came, and presently peeped over 
some bushes and saw, seated on a mossy 
tussock, the very same little man whom the 
huntsman had described to him. The goblin 
had no hat or cap on his head, his face was 
woe-begone, and his legs were scratched as 
if he had been crawling through a bramble 
thicket. He was evidently sadly in the dumps 
at the loss of the good cheer and shelter of 
the woodman’s cottage. 

‘‘Sing us another verse,” the woodman 
said, when the song came to an end. 

Instantly the little imp jumped up, 
stamped his feet with rage, and was out of 
sight in the twinkling of an eye. 

The woodman finished his work and was 
going home in the evening, trudging along 
by his horse’s side, when he saw the little 
goblin standing on a high bank beside the 
road, looking as grim and sulky as before. 


29 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

‘‘Hark ye, bumpkin,” the skrattel cried, 
“is your great cat alive and at home still?” 

“My cat?” the woodman said wonder- 
ingly. 

“Yes, your great cat!” the little imp 
shouted wrathfully. 

Then it occurred to the woodman that the 
skrattel was referring to the bear. “Oh, to 
be sure, my cat,” the woodman said. “Cer- 
tainly, she is alive and well, and would be 
happy to see you whenever you will do us 
the favor to call. And as you seem to be so 
fond of my great cat, you may like to know 
that she had five kittens last night.” 

“Five kittens!” the elf miittered. 

“Yes,” the woodman said, “five of the 
most beautiful kits you ever saw, and so like 
the old cat! It would do your heart good to 
see the whole family, they have such soft, 
gentle paws, such delicate whiskers, and such 
pretty little mouths! Do look in to-night 
about twelve o’clock — the time, you know, 


30 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

that you used to come to see us. I can assure 
you that the old cat will be glad to show you 
her kittens.’’ 

“I come? Not I, indeed!” the skrattel 
shrieked. “What do I want with the little 
wretches Did not I see the mother once.^ 
Keep your kittens to yourself. I must be 
off. This is no place for me. Five kittens! 
So there are six of the vicious brutes now! 
Good-bye to you. You’ve seen me for the 
last time. So bad luck to your ugly cats and 
beggarly house!” 

“And bad luck to you, Mr. Crookback!” 
the woodman cried. “Keep clear of my cat, 
and let us hear no more of your pranks, and 
be hanged to you ! ” 

Now that he knew his troublesome guest 
had gone for good, the woodman moved back 
into the snug old house with his wife and 
children, his dog, and his white cat with her 
five kittens. There they lived happily, for the 
skrattel never came to see them any more. 


SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED 
AND THE BIG BLACK BEAR 












SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED 
AND THE BIG BLACK BEAR 



POOR widow once lived in a little 


cottage with a garden in front of it. 
and in the garden grew two rose bushes, one 
bearing white roses and the other red. The 
widow had two little girls who were just like 
the flowers that bloomed on the rose bushes, 
and she called one Snow-white, and the other 
Rose-red. They were the sweetest and best 
children in the world, always industrious and 
always cheerful. But Snow-white was quieter 
and gentler than Rose-red, for Rose-red loved 
to run about the fields and meadows, picking 
flowers and chasing butterflies, while Snow- 
white was more inclined to stay in the house 
and help her mother. 

The two children loved each other so 
dearly that they always walked hand in 
hand when they went out together, and often 


34 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

one would say, “We will never desert each 
other,” and the other would respond, “No, 
not as long as we live.” 

If the mother was within hearing she would 
add, “Whatever one gets she will share with 
the other.” 

They delighted to roam about in the woods 
gathering berries, and no beast ever harmed 
them. Neither did any beast fear them. The 
rabbits would eat cabbage leaves from their 
hands, the deer grazed beside them in the 
most confiding manner, and the birds re- 
mained perched on the boughs close by, 
singing as if nobody was near. No evil befell 
them, even if they tarried so late in the forest 
that darkness overtook them and they could 
not get home that night. In that case, they 
would lie down on the moss and sleep till 
morning, and their mother knew they were 
quite safe, and never felt anxious about 
them. 

Once, when they had passed the night in 


35 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

the forest, and had been wakened by the 
rising sun, they saw a beautiful child dressed 
in shining garments sitting near their resting- 
place. The child got up, looked at them 
kindly, and without saying anything van- 
ished among the trees. When they looked 
round them they became aware that they 
had slept close to the edge of a precipice. 
They ran home and told their mother of this 
adventure, and she said that the child in 
shining raiment must have been an angel 
guarding them from danger. 

Snow-white and Rose-red kept their 
mother’s cottage so clean and tidy that it 
was a pleasure to go into it. Every morning 
in the summer-time Rose-red, after putting 
the house in order, would gather a nose- 
gay for her mother, and in this she always 
placed a bud from each rosebush. 

Every winter’s morning Snow-white would 
light the fire and put the kettle on to boil, 
and though the kettle was made of brass it 


36 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

was so well scoured that it shone like gold. 
In the evenings, when the frosty winds were 
scurrying over the bare fields and through 
the leafless trees, the little family would sit 
by the warm fireside, and the mother would 
put on her spectacles and read aloud out of 
an interesting book while her children were 
spinning. Beside them on the floor lay a 
little lamb, and behind them perched a small 
white dove with its head tucked under its 
wing. 

One evening as they sat thus cosily to- 
gether there came a knock at the door, and 
the mother said: ‘‘Make haste. Rose-red, 
and open the door. Very likely some poor 
wanderer is seeking shelter.” 

So Rose-red unbarred and opened the door 
expecting to find a man outside, but, instead, 
a great black bear poked in his head. Rose- 
red gave a startled scream and sprang back, 
the lamb began to bleat, the dove fluttered 
on its perch, and Snow-white ran and hid 


37 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

behind her mother’s bed. “ Don’t be afraid,” 
the bear said. “I won’t hurt you. I am half- 
frozen and only wish to warm myself.” 

“You poor bear,” the mother said. “I 
think you had better lie down by the fire; 
but take care not to burn your fur.” 

Then she spoke to her children. “Come 
back to your spinning, ” she said. “The bear 
is a good honest fellow who will do you no 
harm.” 

So they returned to the hearth, and the 
bear said, “Children, I wish you would 
brush the snow from my fur.” 

Then they fetched their brooms and 
brushed him off. After that the beast 
stretched himself in front of the fire and was 
quite happy and comfortable. In a little 
while the children became familiar enough 
to play tricks on their shaggy guest. They 
pulled his fur, climbed over him, and even 
ventured to beat him with a hazel-stick. If 
he growled they only laughed. The bear 


38 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

submitted to everything good-naturedly, 
but when they went too far he cried out: — 

“Spare my life, you children. 

Snow-white and Rose-red, 

Don’t beat your good friend dead.” 

When it was time to retire for the night, 
and the children had gone to bed, the mother 
said to the bear, “You can sleep on the 
hearth, if you like, and so be safely protected 
from the rough winter weather.” 

As soon as day dawned the children let the 
bear out, and he trotted away over the snow 
into the wood, but he returned in the even- 
ing, and thus it was every day for a longtime. 
Always when he came into the house he lay 
down on the hearth, and he let the children 
play what pranks they pleased with him. 
Even the lamb and the dove gradually re- 
covered from their fears. He became like 
one of the family, and the door was never 
bolted for the night until he arrived. 

When spring came, and everything out- 


39 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

doors was green again, the bear one morn- 
ing said to Snow-white, “Now I must go 
away, and I shall not return until the sum- 
mer is past.” 

“Where are you going, dear bear?” Snow- 
white asked. 

“I must go to the forest and guard my 
treasures from the wicked dwarfs,” he said. 
“In winter, when the earth is frozen hard, 
they are obliged to remain underground; but 
now they are beginning to come up to spy 
the land and steal all they can. What they 
once get possession of they conceal in their 
caves, and it is not easily recovered.” 

Snow-white was quite sad as she unbarred 
the door, and watched the bear hurry away 
and disappear among the trees. 

A short time after this the mother sent 
the children into the wood to gather fagots. 
In their wanderings they came to a tree which 
lay on the ground. Near the roots, at some 
distance from where they were, they saw 


40 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

something on the tree-trunk that kept bob- 
bing up and down, and they could not imag- 
ine what it was. They went closer and saw 
that the strange object was a dwarf with a 
wizened face, and a white beard a yard long. 
The end of the beard was caught in a cleft 
of the tree, and the little man jumped about 
like a dog at the end of a string. He evi- 
dently did not know how to free himself, 
and he glared at the girls with his fiery red 
eyes, and cried out: “What are you stand- 
ing there for.^^ Can’t you come and help me.^ 

“What are you doing, little man.^” Rose- 
red asked. 

“ You stupid, inquisitive goose ! ” the dwarf 
exclaimed. “I wanted to split the tree and 
cut it up into wood proper for my kitchen 
fire. The great sticks which you use would 
burn up our food in no time. We don’t need 
to cook such a quantity as you greedy folk. 
But the wedge I drove into the tree-trunk 
flew out, and the crack closed and caught my 


41 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

beautiful beard. So here I am, unable to get 
away; and you silly milk-and-water girls 
just stand and laugh. Ugh! what wretches 
you are!’’ 

The children tried to pull the dwarf’s 
beard out, but they did not succeed. “I will 
run and fetch help,” Rose-red said at length. 

“ Crack-brained sheepshead that you are ! ” 
the dwarf snarled. “What is the use of call- 
ing any one else.^ You girls are two too many 
for me now. Can you think of nothing better 
than that.^” 

“Don’t be so impatient,” Snow-white 
said. “ I know what to do ” ; and she took her 
scissors out of her pocket and snipped oflf his 
beard close down to where it was caught in 
the log. 

As soon as the dwarf felt himself at liberty 
he snatched up a bag full of gold that lay 
among the tree roots and marched off 
grumbling and groaning. “Stupid wretches!” 
he said, “they have cut oflf a piece of my 


42 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

beautiful beard. Plague take them!” And 
away he hurried without as much as looking 
at the children again. 

Not many days later, Snow-white and 
Rose-red went to a pond a-fishing. As they 
approached the fishing-place they saw some- 
thing which looked like an enormous grass- 
hopper jumping about on the shore. They 
ran forward and recognized their old acquain- 
tance, the dwarf. ‘‘What are you trying to 
do?'^ Rose-red asked. “Surely you are not 
going to jump into the water.” 

“I’m not such a simpleton as to do that,” 
the dwarf retorted. “Don’t you see that a 
horrid fish is trying to drag me in.f^” 

The little man had been sitting on the bank 
fishing, when, unfortunately, the wind had 
entangled his beard in the line. Then a big 
fish got on his hook, and the weak little 
fellow had not the strength to draw the fish 
out. The fish was having the best of the 
struggle, and though the dwarf grabbed at 


43 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

the reeds and bushes, he was being dragged 
nearer and nearer the water. The girls ar- 
rived just in time to prevent a catastrophe. 
They caught hold of him, and held him firm 
and tried to disentangle his beard from the 
line, but in vain. So Snow-white took out 
her scissors again and sacrificed another por- 
tion of his beard. 

When the dwarf perceived what she had 
done, he was in a great rage and exclaimed : 
“You donkey! do you call that manners to 
thus disfigure a fellow’s face.^^ Was n’t it 
enough that you shortened my beard before? 
I can’t appear before my own people like 
this. I wish you’d been at Jericho first.” 

Then he took up a bag of pearls that lay 
among the rushes, and without another word 
dragged it away and disappeared. 

It happened soon after this that the 
mother sent the two maidens to the next 
town to buy thread, needles, and ribbons. 
Their road passed over a heath where huge 


44 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

boulders of rock lay scattered about. While 
trudging along they saw a broad-winged 
eagle hovering in the air above them. Pre- 
sently it made a quick descent and alighted 
on a rock not far away. Immediately after- 
ward they heard a piercing shriek. They ran 
forward and saw with horror that the eagle 
had pounced upon the dwarf whom they had 
met twice before, and was about to carry 
him oflf. The children thereupon laid hold of 
the little man, and held him fast till the bird 
gave up the struggle and flew away. 

No sooner had the dwarf recovered from 
his fright than he exclaimed in his squeaking 
voice: "‘You toads! could n’t you have held 
me more carefully.^ You have torn my coat 
all to shreds, useless, awkward hussies that 
you are!” 

So saying, he shouldered a bag fllled with 
precious stones and hastened into his cave 
under the rocks. 

The girls went on their way and did their 


45 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

errands in the town. They had turned home- 
ward and were again on the heath, just 
before sundown, when they came unawares 
on the dwarf pouring out his precious stones 
on an open space, for he had thought no one 
would pass at so late an hour. The low rays 
of the sun shone on the stones, which 
sparkled and glanced so beautifully that the 
children stopped to admire them. 

‘‘What are you standing there gaping 
for.?” the dwarf screamed, and his face be- 
came scarlet with rage. 

He was continuing his abusive words when 
a sudden growl was heard, and a great black 
bear came shambling forth from among the 
rocks. The dwarf started to run, but before 
he could reach his cave the bear overtook 
him. “Spare me, dear Mr. Bear,” he cried 
in terror. “I will give you all my treasures. 
Look at those beautiful precious stones 
lying there. What pleasure would you get 
from eating a poor, feeble little fellow like 


46 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

me? You would n’t feel me between your 
teeth. But here are two wicked girls — take 
them. They would make tender morsels for 
you. They are fat as young quails. Eat them, 
for heaven’s sake.” 

The bear, however, paid no attention to 
the dwarf’s words, and gave the evil little 
creature such a blow with his paw that he 
never stirred again. 

The maidens had started to run away, but 
the bear called after them : “Snow-white and 
Rose-red, don’t you know me? You need not 
be afraid. I am the black bear you befriended 
last winter. Wait, and I will go home with 
you.” 

They recognized his voice, and they 
stopped and waited till he came to where 
they were. Then, to their astonishment, his 
shaggy skin suddenly fell off, and a young 
prince stood before them, dressed in the rich- 
est clothes. “That dwarf had enchanted me 
and stolen all my wealth,” the prince said. 



THE BEAR COMES TO THE AID OF THE 


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47 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

“and I was condemned to wander about in 
the form of a bear till the dwarf’s death 
should set me free. Now he has received his 
well-merited punishment.” 

Then they went to the children’s home, 
and though on the next day the prince de- 
parted to go to his father’s palace, he fre- 
quently visited the cottage in the years that 
followed. When Snow-white grew up he mar- 
ried her, and his brother married Rose-red. 
The two brothers shared equally the im- 
mense treasure the dwarf had collected, and 
they dwelt together in the palace they had 
inherited from their father. 

Snow-white and Rose-red enjoyed their 
beautiful home, and they had their mother 
come to live with them. She brought with 
her the two rose-bushes which had been in 
the cottage yard, and at her request these 
were planted in front of the palace, where, 
every year, they bore the finest white and 
red roses. 








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THE BEARS AND THE MAGICIAN 






THE BEARS AND THE MAGICIAN 


O NCE an old Indian magician was walk- 
ing through the forest when he saw a 
great company of wolves gathered in a circle 
about one of their number who was evidently 
their chief. The old magician drew near and 
said, ‘"Wolf chief, I am often hungry and 
unable to secure food. Pity me and make me 
into a wolf that I may live as you do and 
catch deer and other animals that are swift 
of foot.” 

“Come hither, then,” the wolf chief re- 
sponded, “and I will rub you with my paws 
so that you will be hairy as we are.” 

“No, no,” the old magician said, “I would 
not have my entire body covered with hair, 
but only my arms and legs.” 

So the chief wolf rubbed only the arms 
and legs of the old magician, and they were 
immediately covered with shaggy hair. Then 


52 Fairy-Tale Bears 

the chief wolf ordered some of his followers 
to go with the stranger to help him hunt, and 
they went with him up among the high moun- 
tains where it was very cold. At night they 
lay down to sleep, and the old magician was 
chilled through and through by the frosty 
wind. ‘‘ Cover me with your tails,” he said 
to the wolves; and they laydown around him 
and covered him with their bushy tails. So 
he soon became warm and slept. 

When it was daylight they resumed their 
hunting, and by and by they saw some 
moose. They gave chase and quickly over- 
took and killed them. Scarcely had they be- 
gun eating their prey when the chief wolf and 
a numerous troop of followers came along to 
share in the feast. The old magician gnawed 
the meat from a bone and threw the bone 
away, and by some mischance it hit and 
killed one of the wolves. 

‘‘You cannot stay with us or in this region 
any longer,” the chief wolf said. “You must 


53 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

go where we will not see you again; but I will 
not be too severe, for one of my wolves shall 
be your companion and assist you to hunt.” 

So the old magician and his single wolf 
attendant went off and lived by themselves, 
and they killed all the elk and deer and 
moose they wanted. 

One day a deer that the wolf was chasing 
took refuge on an island in the middle of the 
stream. The wolf followed, but as soon as he 
entered the brush along the shore of the 
island a bear seized and killed him. 

The magician waited a long time for the 
wolf to return, and then went to look for 
him. He asked all the birds and other crea- 
tures he saw if they could tell him what had 
become of his wolf, but none of then could 
give him any information until he accosted 
a kingfisher who was sitting on a limb over- 
hanging a stream. 

‘‘Why do you sit there3 my friend.^^” the 
old magician asked. 


54 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

am looking for something to eat,” the 
kingfisher replied. ‘‘A little way up this 
stream is an island that is the home of the 
chief bear and his two brothers. One of them 
has killed your wolf, and now they are eat- 
ing him, but they only care for the lean meat, 
and they throw the fat into the water. When- 
ever I see a piece come floating along I fly 
down and get it.” 

“I suppose,” the magician said, ‘‘that the 
bears have on the island some sort of a cave 
or den in which they spend most of their 
time. Do they often come out.^^” 

“ They come out every morning,” the king- 
fisher responded, “and play on the sandy 
shore.” 

The old magician went to the island and 
saw the bears’ tracks in the sand where it 
was their custom to play, and he turned 
himself into a dry dead tree on the ad- 
jacent bank. There he waited till the bears 
appeared. 


55 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

When they saw the tree the chief bear 
said: “Look at that dead tree. It is the old 
magician. Brothers, go and see if it is not.” 

So the two brothers of the chief bear went 
to the tree and clawed it, but the old magi- 
cian never moved or cried out. “No,” they 
said, “it is only a tree.” 

Then the chief bear went and clawed and 
bit the tree, and although this hurt the old 
magician sadly he never moved or cried out. 
That made the chief bear sure that the tree 
was really a tree, and he began to play with 
his brothers. As they were rolling about, 
the old magician assumed his human form, 
leaned over the edge of the bank, and shot 
a well -aimed arrow into each of the three 
bears, and they fell lifeless on the sand. 

Afterward he crossed to the mainland 
and walked down beside the stream. Pretty 
soon he met a frog leaping hastily along in the 
opposite direction. Every time the frog 
jumped it would say, “Chief Bear”; and oc- 


56 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

casionally it would stop and add, “I bring 
healing to Chief Bear and his brothers.” 

“Ha!” the old magician exclaimed, “tell 
me what you mean by that?” 

“Why, they have been killed,” the frog 
said, “and I am going to give them some 
medicine that will make them as much alive 
as ever.” 

“No, you are not,” the magician declared, 
and he spoke so threateningly that the frog 
turned back. 

Then the magician retraced his steps to the 
island. “I will not have those rascally bears 
restored to life,” he said. 

So he made a big fire, skinned the bears, 
and roasted the meat in such a way that all 
the grease ran into a hollow of the ground. 
That done, he summoned all the animals in 
the forest to come and roll in the pool of 
grease, and promised them that this oily bath 
would make them fat. 

The bears came first and rolled in the 


57 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

grease, and that is the reason there is so 
much fat on a bear’s body. Last of all came 
the rabbits. By that time the grease was 
nearly gone, but they filled their paws 
with it, and rubbed it on their backs and 
between their hind legs, and that is why every 
rabbit now is so fat in those places. 







GRANDSIRE BEAR AND REYNARD 
THE FOX 





GRANDSIRE BEAR AND 
REYNARD THE FOX 


A t dawn one day Bruin came tramping 
over the bog with a fat pig on his 
shoulder, and scarcely had he finished 
crossing the bog when he was accosted 
by Reynard who was sitting on a wayside 
stone. 

“Good-day, grandsire,” the fox said; 
“what’s that so nice that you have there 
“Pork,” Bruin replied. 

“Well, I have a dainty bit, too,” Reynard 
said. 

“What is it.^ ” the bear asked, laying down 
his burden. 

“The biggest wild bees’ comb I ever saw 
in my life,” Reynard declared. 

“Indeed, you don’t say so,” Bruin said, 
and licked his lips at thought of how good 
the honey would taste. “Will you swap it 


62 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

for my pork?” he asked, after meditating a 
few moments. 

“No, no,” Reynard responded. “I can’t 
do that.” 

But after some further talk they agreed 
to each select and repeat the names of three 
trees. If the fox could say his three off faster 
than the bear could say his, he was to have 
leave to take one bite of the pig. But if the 
bear was the winner he was to have permis- 
sion to take one sup out of the honeycomb; 
and Bruin was very sure he could get all the 
honey in that one sup. 

Now they began to name the trees. “Fir, 
tamarack, larch,” the bear growled. He was 
not angry, but his voice was always gruff, 
no matter how pleasant his mood. 

“Ash, aspen, oak,” Reynard cried; and 
he won, for Bruin had only named two 
trees. 

“Larch and tamarack are different names 
for the same kind of tree,” the fox said, and 



THE FOX HANDED THE BEAR A HORNET’s 


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Fairy-Tale Bears 63 

he pounced on the pig and took the heart 
out at one bite. 

“You’ve taken the very best part of my 
pork,” the bear snarled, and he made a grab 
at the fox, caught hold of his tail, and held 
him fast. 

“Let me go,” the fox begged. “I’ll make 
amends. You shall have a taste of my 
honey.” 

When Bruin heard that, he loosed the fox, 
and away went Reynard after the honey- 
comb.^ He soon returned and held it up 
under the bear’s nose, saying, “ Here on 
this honeycomb lies a leaf, and under the 
leaf is a hole, and that hole you are to suck.” 

Bruin took the comb and put it up to his 
mouth, and the fox slipped off the leaf, 
leaped back a little distance, and began to 
laugh; for instead of a honeycomb he had 
handed the bear a hornet’s nest as big as a 
man’s head. It was full of hornets, and they 
swarmed out and settled on the bear and 


64 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

stung him about the eyes and ears and mouth 
and snout. He had such hard work to rid 
himself of them that he had no time to think 
of Reynard, who escaped without any pun- 
ishment. 

This experience with the hornets is the 
reason why Bruin has ever since been very 
much afraid of them. 


THE YOUNG HUNTERS AND THE BEARS 



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THE YOUNG HUNTERS AND THE 
BEARS 


I N a small hut, right in the middle of the 
forest, lived a man and wife and their 
three sons and a daughter. 

One winter morning, after a night of snow, 
the three sons started off to hunt. They kept 
together for some time, but presently came 
to a place where their path divided, and one 
trail led away to the right and another to the 
left. The youngest brother decided to follow 
the left-hand trail. The older brothers, 
however, went on by the right-hand trail, 
and they had not gone far when their dogs 
scented a bear and drove him out of the 
thicket where he was hiding. The bear ran 
across an open space, and the oldest brother 
shot an arrow that hit the bear in the head 
and killed him. 

They took him up and carried him toward 


68 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

home, and at the fork of the path met the 
youngest brother, who was returning empty- 
handed. 

When they reached the home hut they 
threw the bear down on the floor saying: 
“Father, here is a bear we killed. Now we 
can have a good dinner.” 

But the father only said, “When I was a 
young man, and my brothers and I went to 
hunt, we rarely got less than two bears in 
one day.” 

The sons were rather disappointed, be- 
cause they had expected praise for their 
prowess, instead of criticism. There was 
plenty of meat to last for several days, but 
early the next morning they again started 
off hunting. They followed the same trail 
as before, and parted in like manner at the 
fork of the path. Soon a bear ran out from 
behind a tree in front of the two older bro- 
thers, and they and their dogs pursued and 
killed him. On their way back they met the 


69 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

youngest brother at the fork of the path, 
and he also had shot a bear on the left-hand 
trail. 

They carried the two bears home, but when 
they threw them triumphantly on the floor of 
the hut their father only said, “My brothers 
and I often got three bears in one day.” 

So, in spite of the great supply of meat 
they now had, the sons again set forth to 
hunt the next morning, and they were lucky 
enough to each shoot a bear this time. But 
when they brought the three bears home 
their father said, “My brothers and I some- 
times killed four bears in one day.” 

The bears the sons had shot were the ser- 
vants of a great bear chief who lived in a 
cavern beneath a high mountain a long way 
off. This chief was furious because so many 
of his bears were being killed, and he deter- 
mined to find some way of destroying the 
youthful hunters. So he said to one of his 
servants: “Go to the path that these youths 


70 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

frequent, and secrete yourself where it forks. 
When they and their dogs approach show 
yourself and induce them to chase you until 
you return here. The mountain will open to 
let you and your pursuers in, and then I shall 
have them in my power, and we shall be able 
to revenge ourselves.” 

The servant bowed low and hurried to the 
fork of the path, where he hid in the bushes. 
Only the two older brothers came forth to 
hunt that day. Suddenly their dogs began 
to bark loudly, and the bear sprang out of 
the thicket and scurried away in the direc- 
tion of the mountain. The youths gave 
chase and followed him even till the moun- 
tain opened in front of them. They all 
rushed in pell-mell; nor did the lads slacken 
their headlong pace until they saw bears 
sitting on every side of them holding a 
council. 

‘‘Why are you trying to kill all my ser- 
vants? ” the bear chief asked, frowning at the 


71 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

two youths. “ It is I who ordered the bear 
you have been chasing to lure you into my 
power to-day. I shall take care that you 
do not hurt my people any more, for you 
will become bears yourselves.” 

The youths cast frightened glances at the 
angry assemblage around them and saw only 
one bear who showed any compassion. That 
one was the bear chief’s sister. She was sorry 
for the lads and begged the chief to be lenient. 

‘‘Very well,” he said, “I will not be as 
severe as I at first intended. Their heads and 
bodies shall remain as they are, and only 
their arms and legs shall be changed into 
those of a bear; but they will have to go on 
all fours the rest of their lives.” 

As he spoke he stooped over a spring of 
water that bubbled up in the mountain 
cavern, drew forth a handful of moss, and 
rubbed it over the arms and legs of the lads. 
Instantly the transformation took place, and 
they were neither beast nor human. 


72 Fairy-Tale Bears 

The bear chief knew that their father 
would seek for his sons when they did not 
return home, and he sent one of his servants 
to hide at the fork of the path and see what 
the man did. 

This servant was very cunning, and he 
took along the snowshoes of one of the lads. 
There had been a light fall of snow since they 
came to the mountain, and it had covered 
up their tracks. When the bear got to where 
the path divided he put the snowshoes on 
his hind feet, stood upright, and walked 
along the right-hand trail to the edge of a 
precipice. There he arranged some brush 
so that the precipice would not be easily 
perceived, and then he ran back to the fork 
of the path and hid. 

Soon the father came in sight, stooping as 
he walked to look for his sons’ tracks in the 
snow. When he saw the marks of snowshoes 
on the right-hand path he was filled with 
joy, and hastened eagerly forward. He had 




Fairy-Tale Bears 73 

no thought of danger, and he plunged head- 
long down the precipice and was killed. 

Again the bear arranged some concealing 
brush at the edge of the declivity, and re- 
turned to his hiding-place. 

The mother at home was meanwhile be- 
coming more and more anxious over the long 
absence of her two sons, and when her hus- 
band did not come back promptly she said she 
would go forth and try to find him and them. 

“No, let me undertake the search,” her 
youngest son begged. 

“You must stay at home and take care of 
your sister,” she said, and she put on her 
snowshoes and started. 

She followed her husband’s tracks, and 
like him plunged down the precipice and was 
killed. 

Then the bear went back to the mountain 
and reported to his chief. 

Hour after hour dragged heavily by in the 
forest hut, and at last the brother and sister 


74 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

felt quite sure that in some way or other 
the rest of the family had perished. Every 
morning the youth climbed to the top of a 
tall tree near the house, and sat there till he 
was almost frozen, looking about in all direc- 
tions, hoping that he might see some of the 
lost ones returning. At last the food in the 
hut had all been eaten, and he could no 
longer delay going to hunt for more. 

His sister did not like to be left alone in 
the hut and cried bitterly when he explained 
to her the necessity of seeking food. 

“But surely,” he said, “there is no use of 
sitting down quietly to starve; and whether 
I find game or not I shall come back, so as 
not to be away overnight.” 

He spent an entire day getting ready. 
First he cut himself some arrows, each from 
a different tree, and winged every arrow with 
the feathers of four different birds, and after- 
ward he made a very light, strong bow, and 
got his snowshoes ready. 


75 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

Early the next morning he called his dog 
and set out. For a long time he went on and 
on, and at last he sat down on the fallen 
branch of a big oak tree to rest. 

His dog ran round and round the tree 
barking furiously. The youth could see no 
reason for the dog’s excitement, and began 
to fancy that the tree had let fall the branch 
and killed his brothers or parents. So with 
a vengeful feeling in his heart he shot one 
of his arrows at the tree. Thereupon he was 
startled by a noise like thunder, the tree 
shook from top to bottom, and burst into 
flames. In a few minutes nothing remained 
where it had stood but a heap of ashes. 

The youth knew not what to make of the 
occurrence, and after puzzling over it for a 
while he went on. Soon he came to a patch 
of bushes, and his dog dashed along the edge 
of it, barking loudly. , A bear rushed out and 
sped away toward the mountains as fast as it 
could go, with the dog following close behind. 


76 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

The lad gave chase also, but presently 
the thong of one of his snowshoes broke, and 
he had to stop to mend it. That allowed the 
dog and bear to get so far ahead he could 
hardly hear the dog’s barking. 

“Now,” he said to his snowshoes, 
must go as fast as you can, or I shall lose the 
dog as well as the bear.” 

He hurried forward with all possible speed, 
and by and by came to the mountain that 
was the home of the bear chief, and which 
the bear and dog had already entered. The 
bear chief’s sister was looking out of a win- 
dow, and she could not help pitying the 
young lad just as she had his brothers. He 
wondered much over the disappearance of 
the two animals, but while he paused to 
think what he would do next he fancied he 
heard the dog’s voice on the opposite side 
of the mountain. 

With great difficulty he scrambled up the 
steep rocks and forced his way through 


77 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

tangled thickets. When he reached the other 
side the dog’s barking seemed to proceed 
from the place whence he had come. So he 
started back; but at the very top of the 
mountain, where he stopped to rest, he ob- 
served that the barking was directly beneath 
him. Instantly he knew where he was and 
what had happened. 

‘‘Let my dog out at once, bear chief!” 
he cried. “If you do not, I shall destroy 
your palace.” 

But the bear chief only laughed and said 
nothing. 

This made the boy very angry, and when 
he had descended the mountain he turned 
and shot an arrow straight at it. Immedi- 
ately there was a deep rumbling sound, 
flames broke out, and the whole mountain 
crumbled and was consumed. All the bears 
perished in the fire except the bear chief’s 
sister. She was spared because she had tried 
to save the two elder lads from punishment. 


78 Fairy-Tale Bears 

As soon as the fire had burned itself out 
the young hunter went seeking for his 
brothers among the ruins of the mountain, 
and he soon found them, half bear, haK 
human, coming toward him on all fours. 

When they got to where he was they rose 
on their hind legs and put their shaggy fore- 
paws on his shoulders, and the three cried 
together over the elder two’s sad plight, 
which none of them knew how to remedy. 

But now the bear chief’s sister came gently 
to them and said to the young hunter: “Yon- 
der is a spring. Take some moss from it, 
and you need only have your brothers smell 
the moss to restore them to their proper 
form.” 

All three ran to the spring, the youngest 
plucked a handful of wet moss, and the two 
others sniffed at it with all their might. 
Then their limbs became human, and they 
stood upright. 

“What can we do for you to show our 


Fairy-Tale Bears 79 

gratitude?” they said to the bear chief’s 
sister. 

She only smiled and sent them home to 
look after their sister who was in the forest 
hut alone with no one to protect her. 



THE BEAR AND THE WRENS 



THE BEAR AND THE WRENS 


O NE summer’s day a bear and a wolf 
were taking a walk in a wood when they 
heard a bird singing very sweetly. ‘‘Bro- 
ther Wolf,” the bear said, ‘‘what kind of 
a bird is that which is singing so pret- 
tily?” 

“That is the King of the Birds, before 
whom we must do reverence,” the Wolf re- 
plied; but really it was only a wren. 

“If that is the King of the Birds,” the 
bear said, “I would like to see his royal 
palace. Come, show it to me.” 

“I will show it to you as soon as the queen 
returns home,” the wolf responded. 

So they waited, and kept a sharp watch, 
and soon saw the queen go to her nest, which 
was in a crevice of a bank. She carried food 
in her beak for her young ones. A few mo- 
ments later she flew away, and the wolf and 


84 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

bear went and peeped into the nest. They 
saw five or six young birds in it. 

“ Is that the royal palace.^ ” the bear asked. 
“It is a wretched hole; and do you mean to 
say that those are royal children.^ They are 
miserable brats.” 

When the young wrens heard this they 
were furious, and they shrieked: “No, no! 
we are not. You shall be punished for your 
insulting words.” 

The bear and the wolf began to be afraid, 
and they went and hid themselves in their 
dens, but the young birds kept on screaming 
and making a terrible noise. As soon as their 
parents again brought them food the fiedg- 
lings said, “We will not touch so much as 
the leg of a fiy — no, not if we starve — till 
you have proved that we are respectable chil- 
dren. The bear has been calling us names. ” 

“There, there, my dears,” their father 
said, “be quiet, and he shall be punished.” 

So the father and mother birds fiew to the 


85 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

bear’s den and cried: ‘‘Old Growler, why 
have you insulted our children? You shall 
sufiFer for what you have done. We declare a 
fierce war on you.” 

The wrens flew away, and the bear made 
haste to summon his friends to his aid. All 
the four-footed beasts assembled — cattle, 
donkeys, elephants, lions, and every animal 
that walks the earth with four feet. Mean- 
while, the wrens summoned all the creatures 
with wings — not only the birds, great 
and small, but gnats, hornets, bees, and 
flies. 

The time came for the war to begin, and 
the father wren sent out spies to discover 
who was to be the general of the enemy’s 
army. Among the spies were some gnats, 
and they were the most cunning of all. One 
of these gnats flew to a wood and discovered 
the four-footed beasts holding a council be- 
neath a great tree. He alighted on a leaf of 
the tree and heard the bear say to the fox. 


86 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

‘‘Reynard, you are famous for your slyness, 
so you shall be our general and lead us.” 

“Very good,” the fox responded, “and 
now we must agree on a signal. I have a fine 
long bushy tail which looks very like a red 
feather at a distance. If I hold it straight up 
all is going well, and you are to march after 
me and charge the enemy. But if I allow it 
to hang down you must run for your lives.” 

When the fox finished speaking, the gnat 
fiew back and told the father wren what had 
been said. 

The battle morning dawned, and the four- 
footed beasts came rushing along roaring 
and bellowing, and making the very earth 
shake with their tread. The wren and his 
army came also, whirring through the air, 
screaming and flapping and buzzing enough 
to make you tremble in your shoes. Thus 
the two hosts advanced against each other, 
and the wren sent a hornet, to settle on the 
fox’s tail and sting it as hard as possible. 


87 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

The hornet did as it was ordered, and when 
the fox felt the sting he lifted a hind leg, but 
he bore the pain bravely and kept his tail 
in the air. Again the hornet stung, and the 
fox was forced to let his tail droop a little 
bit, but only a little. Then the hornet stung 
the third time, and down went the tail of the 
fox between his legs. The other beasts at 
once concluded that all was lost, and they 
began to run each to its own hole. 

So the birds won the battle, and the wren 
and his wife flew home to their children 
and said: ‘'Now be happy. Eat and drink 
to your hearts’ content, for we are the vic- 
tors.” 

But the young wrens said, “We will not 
touch a thing until the bear has been to the 
nest and begged our pardon and admitted 
that we are respectable children.” 

The parent wrens therefore flew to the 
bear’s den, and cried, “Old Growler, you 
must come to our nest and beg pardon of 


88 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

our little ones for calling them names, or you 
shall be punished.” 

Their threat terrified the bear greatly, and 
he came crawling to the nest and apologized. 
Then, at last, the young wrens were satis- 
fied, and they ate, drank, and made merry 
till far into the night. 


THE BEAR AND THE TWO HUNTSMEN 








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THE BEAR AND THE TWO 
HUNTSMEN 


T WO huntsmen who were in need of 
money went to a fur dealer to sell him 
a bearskin. But they could not show him 
the skin, for as yet it was on a live bear that 
rambled free in the forest. However, they 
promised that they would soon kill the crea- 
ture and bring his hide to the fur dealer’s 
shop. 

‘‘And he is a very king of bears,” they de- 
clared — “the biggest bear under the sun. 
We would wager that his skin is cheap at 
double the price we ask. It will make two 
robes where an ordinary skin would only 
make one.” 

Never did any one prize a pelt as they did 
their bearskin, for they seemed to think they 
owned it rather than the bear, and they 
succeeded in persuading the dealer to buy it. 


92 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

“We will bring it to you in two days at 
most,” they promised. 

Forth they went with their guns, but it 
was easier to find the bear than to get his 
skin; for he suddenly came out of a thicket 
growling threateningly, and approached 
them at a trot. Such an unexpected course 
on the part of the bear greatly alarmed our 
two hunters, and one of them, who was very 
light and nimble, hastily clambered up a 
tree. The other, cold as ice with fear, fell 
on his face, held his breath, and pretended 
he was dead, for he had heard that a bear 
would not molest a dead person. 

Such a blockhead was the bear that he 
actually believed that the man lying there 
full length on the ground was a corpse; yet 
he half -suspected some deceit, and he smelt 
and snuffed the prostrate hunter from head 
to foot. “Yes, yes, the fellow’s dead,” the 
bear muttered, “and his decaying flesh has 
an odor that is far from sweet. Well, I’ll 


93 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

leave the body where it is, to be devoured by 
the carrion crows/’ 

Then off he shambled into the woods. 
After the bear had disappeared, the hunter 
in the tree cautiously descended, and went 
to his companion lying in the dirt. He helped 
him up and said consolingly: ‘Tt is not sur- 
prising that the monster forced us asunder, 
and we can rejoice that we are more scared 
than hurt. But how about the creature’s 
skin?” he asked with a smile and a jovial 
wink. “I observed that the bear held his 
muzzle very close to your ear — what did % 
he whisper to you?” 

The other replied thus : — 

“ He gave this caution — ‘ Never dare 
Again to sell the skin of bear 
Its owner has not ceased to wear.* *’ 



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BRUIN OUTWITTED 




BRUIN OUTWITTED 


O NCE upon a time there was a bear who 
lay down on a hillside in the sun and 
slept. By and by Reynard came slouching 
along and caught sight of him. “ There lies 
Grandsire Bruin taking his ease,’’ the fox 
said. “I think I’ll play him a trick.” 

So he caught a field-mouse, put it on a 
stump close to Bruin’s head, and bawled 
into the bear’s ear, “Wake up. Bruin, and 
look out for the hunters!” 

Then he ran off into the woods as fast as 
he could go. 

Bruin awoke with a start, and when he 
saw the little mouse on the stump he lifted 
his paw to strike and crush it, for he thought 
the mouse was the one who had been bellow- 
ing into his ear. 

Just at that moment he caught sight of 
Reynard running away through the bushes, 


98 Fairy-Tale Bears 

and knew it was the fox instead of the mouse 
who had disturbed his slumbers so rudely. 
Off he went after him with such a rush that 
the underwood crackled as he went. He 
gained on Reynard, and presently was so 
close to him that he caught hold of his hind 
foot as he was crawling into a hole under a 
pine root. 

Reynard was fairly in the grip of his enemy, 
but he nevertheless kept his wits about him, 
and yelled, “Let go of the pine root and 
catch Reynard’s foot!” 

So the bear, in his excitement, released the 
foot of the fox, and laid hold of the root, 
while Reynard slipped down into the hole 
beyond reach. 

“I got the best of you that time, grand- 
sire,” the fox called back. 

“Out of sight is n’t out of mind,” the bear 
growled down the hole, and then he went 
away enraged and disappointed. 


THE BEAR’S BAD BARGAIN 




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THE BEAR’S BAD BARGAIN 


O NCE upon a time an old woodman 
lived with his wife in a tiny hut close 
to a rich man’s orchard — so close, indeed, 
that some of the boughs of a pear tree in 
the orchard hung right over the cottage 
yard. 

The rich man told the woodman and his 
wife that if any of the fruit fell into their yard 
they might have it to eat, and they watched 
the pears ripening with hungry eyes. As the 
time drew near when the rich man would 
have the pears picked they could not help 
wishing that a storm of wind or some other 
chance would cause the fruit to fall. But the 
pears continued to hang on the drooping 
branches, and there seemed to be little pros- 
pect that the cottage dwellers would get 
more than a meagre few. 

This was quite irritating to the old wife, 


102 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

and she grumbled and scolded, and took to 
giving her husband nothing but dry bread to 
eat. At the same time she insisted on his 
working harder than ever, so that the poor 
old woodman got quite thin. 

At last he declared that he would work no 
more unless his wife gave him some good rich 
soup for his dinner. 

So the old woman took some rice and pulse 
and some butter and spices, and began to 
cook a savory soup. What an appetizing 
smell it had, to be sure! If the woodman 
could have had his way he would have stayed 
in the house to be ready to gobble up the 
soup as soon as it was ready. 

But the old wife said: ‘‘No, no, you shall 
have none of the soup till you have brought 
home another load of wood; and it must be 
a good-sized load, too. You have got to work 
for your dinner.” 

It was of no use to argue, and the old man 
went ofiF to the forest where he hacked and 


Fairy-Tale Bears 103 

hewed with such a will that he soon had 
quite a large bundle of sticks. 

Just then a bear came swinging along, 
peering about with his keen little eyes. “ Peace 
be with you, friend,” the bear said. “What 
are you going to do with that remarkably 
large bundle of wood.^” 

“It is for my wife,” the woodman an- 
swered. “The fact is, she has made a splen- 
did soup for dinner, and if I bring home a 
good bundle of wood she is pretty sure to 
give me a plentiful portion of soup. Oh, my 
dear fellow, you should just smell that soup ! ” 
At this the bear’s mouth began to water, 
and he said, “Do you think your wife would 
give me some of it, if I brought her a bundle 
of wood.^” 

“Perhaps she would if you brought her a 
very big load,” the woodman responded. 

“Would four hundred weight be enough ” 
the bear asked anxiously. 

“I’m afraid not,” the woodman said. 


104 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

shaking his head. “You see such a soup as 
she is making is expensive. There is rice in 
it, and lots of butter, and pulse, and — ” 

“Would eight hundred weight do?” the 
bear interrupted. 

“Say half a ton, and it’s a bargain,” 
the woodman answered. 

“Half a ton is a large quantity,” the bear 
sighed. 

“There are spices in the soup,” the wood- 
man said. 

The bear licked his lips, and his little eyes 
twinkled greedily. “Well,” he said, “I’ll 
get the wood, and you go home and tell your 
wife to keep the soup hot till I come.” 

Away went the woodman in great glee, 
and informed his wife of how the bear had 
agreed to bring half a ton of wood in return 
for a share of the soup. 

The wife acknowledged that her husband 
had made a good bargain. “But you ought 
to have settled exactly what share of the 



THE OLD WOODMAN TALKS WITH THE 


BEAR 





105 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

soup the bear was to have,” she said; “for 
if the three of us sit down to eat together he 
will gobble up all there is in the pot before 
we have finished our first helping.” 

The woodman turned pale with alarm. 
‘Tn that case,” he said, “we had better be- 
gin now and have a fair start.” 

So, without more ado, they commenced 
to eat the soup as fast as they could. 

“Wife,” the woodman said, speaking with 
his mouth full, “remember to leave some 
for the bear.” 

“Certainly, certainly,” she said, scooping 
up another dish of the savory soup. 

Thus they went on eating and cautioning 
each other until not a morsel was left in the 
pot. 

“What is to be done now.^” the woodman 
said. “It is all your fault, wife, for eating 
so greedily.” 

“My fault!” his wife retorted scornfully; 
“why> you ate twice as much as I did.” 


106 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

“No, I did n’t!” he said. 

“Yes, you did!” she repeated. “Men al- 
ways eat more than women.” 

“Well,” the woodman said, “it is of no 
use to quarrel about it now. The soup is 
gone, and the bear will be furious.” 

“We must lock up everything in the house 
that is good to eat,” the old woman said, 
“and then hide in the garret.” 

So they made haste to lock up all the food, 
and went to the garret and hid. 

Meanwhile the bear had been toiling and 
moiling away getting his half ton of wood. 
It took him much longer than he expected. 
However, the wood was at last ready, and 
he carried it to the woodcutter’s cottage, 
where he arrived quite exhausted. He threw 
the load down and went in and saw the brass 
soup pot by the fire. Mercy ! how angry he 
was when he found nothing in it — not even 
a grain of rice, nor a tiny bit of pulse, but 
only a smell so uncommonly nice that he 


107 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

cried with rage and disappointment. He 
flew around and turned the furniture topsy- 
turvy, yet he could not And a morsel of 
food. 

“If I’m to go hungry,” he said, “they 
shall have none of the wood I brought. I will 
carry it away.” 

But when he went out and looked at the 
bundle, and recalled how heavy it was, he 
did not care to burden himself with it again, 
even for the sake of revenge. 

“At any rate, I won’t go off empty- 
handed,” he said, and he stepped back into 
the house and seized the soup pot. “If I 
can’t get the taste I ’ll have the smell,” he 
declared. 

When he came out this time he caught 
sight of the beautiful yellow pears hanging 
over into the yard, and in a trice he clam- 
bered onto the wall and up the tree. He 
picked one of the biggest and ripest pears, 
and was about to put it in his mouth when a 


108 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

thought struck him. "‘If I take these pears 
home,” he said, “I shall be able to sell them 
for ever so much to the other bears, and with 
the money I can buy some soup. Ha, ha! I 
shall have the best of the bargain after all!” 

Then he began to gather the ripe pears as 
fast as he could and put them into the soup- 
pot. Occasionally he came to an unripe one. 
“None of the bears would buy that,” he 
would say with a shake of his head, “yet it is 
a pity to waste it.” 

So he would pop it into his mouth and eat 
it, making wry faces over its sourness. 

All this time the woodman’s wife had been 
watching the bear through a crevice, scarcely 
daring to breathe for fear of discovery. But 
she was asthmatic and had a cold in her head, 
and presently, just as the soup pot was full 
of ripe yellow pears, she gave the most tre- 
mendous sneeze you ever heard — “ylA- 
chewV^ 

The bear thought some one had fired a 


109 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

gun at him, and he dropped the soup pot into 
the cottage yard, and fled to the forest as fast 
as his legs would carry him. 

Thus the woodman and his wife got the 
soup, the half ton of wood, and the coveted 
pears, but the poor bear got nothing except 
a very bad stomach-ache from eating unripe 
fruit. 







THE BEAR IN A FOREST PITFALL 


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THE BEAR IN A FOREST PITFALL 


O NCE upon a time there was a man who 
lived far, far away in the forest where 
he had many goats and sheep. But his flock 
suffered greatly from Greylegs, the wolf, 
and at last the man said, “I must trap this 
thieving Greylegs.” 

So one winter day he went to work digging 
a large square pitfall, and when he made the 
hole deep enough he set up a pole in the 
middle, and on the top of the pole fastened 
a board, and on the board he put a little dog. 
Over the pit itself he spread boughs and twigs 
and leaves, and on this covering strewed 
snow, so that Greylegs might not suspect 
there was a pit underneath. 

When the man finished these arrange- 
ments he went home. By and by night came, 
and the little dog grew weary of sitting there, 


114 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

and began to bark at the moon. Bow-wow, 
bow-wow!” he said. 

Soon a fox came slouching and sneaking 
along. He saw the little dog and thought 
that here was a fine chance for getting some- 
thing to eat. So he gave a jump and went 
head over heels down into the pit. That 
frightened into silence the dog on the board 
at the top of the pole. 

Later in the night the little dog got so 
weary and so hungry that he resumed his 
yelping and howling. ‘‘Bow-wow, bow- 
wow!” he cried. 

His barking presently attracted Greylegs, 
who came trotting to the spot, and was re- 
joiced to find a good meal ready for him. 
He leaped forward to seize the dog, and went 
head over heels into the pit. 

The dog was again terrified into silence, 
but toward dawn the wind began to blow, 
and the air grew so cold that the little dog 
shivered and shook, and he barked with 


115 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

all his might for help — “Bow-wow, bow- 
wow, bow-wow!” 

His yelping was heard by a bear who was 
tramping along not far away, thinking how 
he could get a morsel for breakfast. “ Well,” 
he said, as he came to where he could see the 
dog, “here is my breakfast waiting for me.” 

He hurried forward to seize the dog, and 
down he went with a crash and a bump 
through the concealing boughs and twigs 
head over heels into the pit. 

The dog stopped howling, but for only a 
little while, he was so very chilly and weary 
and hungry. At length the sun rose and sent 
its rays glinting down into the snowy forest. 
Then came an old woman walking along 
through the wood. She was a beggar who 
toddled from farm to farm with a bag on her 
back. 

As soon as she heard the dog she was curi- 
ous to learn what he was doing there in the 
woodland, and why he barked in such dis- 


116 Fairy-Tale Bears 

tress. When she drew near she saw that he 
had been put there to lure some of the wild 
forest creatures into a pit, and she wondered 
if any beasts had been trapped during the 
night. A few paces from the edge of the pit 
she got down on her hands and knees and 
crept cautiously forward and peeped down 
into it. 

‘‘Here you are trapped at last, Reynard,” 
she said to the fox, who was the first of the 
captives that she saw. “This is a very good 
place for such a henroost robber as you are.” 

Then she observed the woK and said: 
“Yes, and for you also, Greylegs. Many a 
goat and sheep have you caught and killed. 
Now you will receive your just punishment. 
Bless my heart! are you here, too. Bruin, 
you horse-slayer. This very day you shall 
die, and that shaggy skin of yours will be 
nailed up on the wall to dry.” 

All this the old woman screeched out as 
she bent low at the edge of the pit, looking 


117 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

down into the gloom. But just as she finished 
her remarks the bag on her back slipped for- 
ward over her head with a jerk that carried 
her with it down into the pit. 

So now there were four in the pit, and they 
each sat in a corner and glared at one another. 
Presently Reynard began to twist and turn 
and peer about, trying to discover some way 
to get out. 

“Sit still, you whirligig thief!” the old 
woman cried. “Do as Bruin does. There he 
sits as grave as a judge.” 

She thought the bear’s friendship was 
worth cultivating under the circumstances, 
and she hoped her compliment would win 
his favor. 

But now the man arrived who owned the 
pitfall. First he drew up the old woman, 
and afterward he slew the three beasts. So 
he was troubled no more by Reynard or 
Greylegs or Bruin, and hisfiocks throve much 
better then ever before. 



A BEAR STORY 



A BEAR STORY 


IN NURSERY LATIN 

A S I was going up stin-dum-stair-um I 
met a high-gig-gle-y-bon-bear-um car- 
rying off my fin-dum-fair-um; and I said, 
“I wish I had my gish-me-gair-um — I’d 
show that high-gig-gle-y-bon-bear-um how to 
carry off my fin-dum-fair-um!” 


TRANSLATED INTO PLAIN ENGLISH 

As I was going upstairs I met a bear carry- 
ing off my pig; and I said, “I wish I had my 
gun — I’d show that bear how to carry off 
my pig!” 










THE BEAR WHO WAS AN ENCHANTED 
KING 



THE BEAR WHO WAS AN 
ENCHANTED KING 

O NCE upon a time there was a king who 
had three daughters. The less said 
about the elder two the better, but the third 
was the best tempered and most beautiful 
maiden in the kingdom, and the king and 
all his subjects were very fond of her. 

One night she dreamed of a golden wreath 
which was so lovely that she declared, when 
she awoke, that she could not be happy until 
she had one just like it. She described it to 
her father, and he ordered the most skillful 
goldsmith who could be found, to make such 
a wreath. But when the wreath was ready 
it did not satisfy her, and she tossed it aside 
and grew so melancholy she would hardly 
say a word. 

As she was walking one day in the wood- 
land she saw a white bear who was playing 


126 F airy-T ale Bears 

with the very wreath of which she had 
dreamed. 

Will you sell me that wreath.^^ ” she asked. 

“No,” he said, “it is not for sale. But you 
can have it, if you will let me have you.” 

“Well,” she responded, “then you can 
have me, for life without that golden wreath 
is not worth living.” 

He handed her the wreath, and said, “I 
will come to the palace to get you in three 
days’ time.” 

When she returned home with the wreath 
every one was pleased to see her happy again. 
She told the king of her bargain with the 
white bear, and he declared that the bear 
should never have her. On the third day he 
ordered his army to guard the approaches 
to the palace, and to drive the bear away if 
he appeared. 

By and by the bear came, but no one could 
withstand him. The soldiers’ weapons had 
no effect on him, and he hurled the men who 


127 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

opposed him right and left so that they lay 
in heaps on either side. 

The king saw that he must do something 
to appease the creature. He therefore sent 
out his eldest daughter to the bear, who took 
her on his back and went off. But they had 
not gone far when the bear asked, “Have 
you ever sat softer, and have you ever seen 
clearer.^” 

The princess replied, “I have sat softer 
on my mother’s lap, and I have seen clearer 
in my father’s hall.” 

“Oh!” the bear said, “then you are not 
the right maiden”; and he ordered her to 
get off his back and go home. 

Three days later the bear again went to 
the palace, and again the army attempted 
to drive him away, but he dashed the sol- 
diers down like grass, and the king sent 
out to him his second daughter. 

The white bear took her on his back and 
went off. Presently he asked, “Have you 


128 Fairy-Tale Bears 

ever seen clearer, and have you ever sat 
softer?” 

“In my father’s hall I have seen clearer,” 
she replied, “and on my mother’s lap I have 
sat softer.”' 

“Oh, then you are not the right one!” 
the bear said. “Get off my back and go 
home.” 

Three days passed, and he once more went 
to the palace. The army tried to keep him 
back, but he tossed the soldiers hither and 
thither until the king saw how helpless the 
contest was, and sent out his youngest 
daughter. 

The bear took her on his back and went 
away. When they had gone deep into the 
woodland he asked, “Have you ever sat 
softer or seen clearer?” 

“No, never,” she replied. 

“Ah!” he said, “you are the right one.” 

After a while they came to a castle that 
was much grander than her father’s palace. 


129 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

‘‘This is to be your home,” the bear said, 
“and I hope you will live here happily. 
There will be nothing for you to do except 
to see that the fire never goes out.” 

The sun sank below the western horizon 
while he spoke, and to her surprise he be- 
came a man, and said his name was Valmon 
and that he was a king. 

But when the sun came up in the east 
the next morning he was once more a bear 
and went away for the day. 

Three years passed, and in all that time 
the white bear each evening became a man. 
He treated the princess kindly, and she loved 
him; but he was away every day, and she 
grew lonesome and at last begged leave to 
go home and see her parents. 

“You may go,” the bear said, “but do 
not remain more than three days.” 

So she went to her father’s palace, and at 
the end of the three days prepared to return 
to the white bear. Her mother, however. 


130 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

urged her to stay one more night, and finally 
she consented. 

The next day she went back to the splen- 
did forest castle where she arrived in the 
evening just after the white bear had come 
home as usual to spend the night. 

“Why did you stay away more than the 
three days.^” he asked. “Now you have 
made us both unlucky. In another month 
I should have been free from the enchant- 
ment that compels me to be a bear half the 
time. But your failure to do as I requested 
takes from me the power to transform my- 
self into a man each evening. I have been 
bewitched by a hag of the trolls, and now I 
must go to her. She will restore my human 
shape and marry me.” 

He at once made ready to depart while the 
princess sat down and wept and moaned. 
Presently he finished his preparations and 
passed out of the door. Then the princess 
leaped to her feet and ran after him, caught 


131 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

hold of his shaggy hide, and threw herself 
on his back. There she held fast, and the 
bear carried her over hills and crags, and 
through brakes and briers till her clothes 
were torn to tatters, and she was so ex- 
hausted she fainted and let go her hold. 

When she came to herself she was in a 
great wood, and she got up and wandered on, 
hoping to find the white bear. After a while 
she came to a hut, and in the doorway stood 
an old woman. 

‘‘Have you seen anything of King Valmon, 
the white bear.^” the princess asked. 

“Yes,” the old woman said, “he passed 
by here this morning early, but he went so 
fast you’ll never be able to catch up with 
him.” 

A little girl was running about in front of 
the hut playing with some golden scissors. 
She waved them about, clipping in the air, 
and, as she did so, splendid pieces of silk and 
satin cloth fell to the ground around her. 


132 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

Plainly, whoever possessed those magic 
scissors could never lack fine raiment. 

The princess was about to resume her 
journey when the little girl said to the old 
woman, ‘T would like to give my scissors to 
this stranger. She needs them more than 
I do.” 

The old woman was willing, and the prin- 
cess went on her way with the magic scissors 
in her pocket. She walked and walked, and 
the next day came to another hut. An old 
woman stood in the doorway. 

“Good-day,” the princess said. “Have 
you seen anything of King Valmon the white 
bear.^^” 

“Yes,” the old woman replied, “he passed 
by yesterday, but he went so fast you will 
never be able to catch him.” 

On the fioor, inside of the hut, a little girl 
was playing with a magic fiask from which 
could be poured out any drink a person 
might wish to have. She rose and brought 


133 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

the flask to the princess. ‘‘Take it with 
you,” she said. “You have a hard journey 
before you and need it more than I do.” 

So the princess accepted the flask and went 
on, and the next day came to a third hut. 
She greeted an old woman who stood in the 
doorway, and said, “Have you seen anything 
of King Valmon, the white bear.^^” 

“He passed here day before yesterday,” 
the old woman replied, “and he went so fast 
you will never be able to overtake him.” 

On a bench beside the door a little girl 
was playing with a magic napkin; and who- 
ever had that napkin could say to it, “Nap- 
kin, spread yourself out and furnish me dainty 
food”; and the napkin would immediately 
have an excellent dinner arrayed on it. The 
little girl handed the napkin to the princess, 
and said, “Your journey is so hard and lonely 
you need the napkin more than I do.” 

The princess thanked her and took the 
napkin, and went on. She came to a mountain 


134 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

the next day, and it was as steep as a wall, 
so she could not climb it. Close to the base 
of the mountain was a hut. The door was 
open, and the princess looked in and saw a 
woman busy about her household tasks. 

“Have you seen King Valmon, the white 
bear, pass this way?” the princess asked. 

“Yes,” the woman replied, “he went up 
this mountain three days ago. But you can 
see for yourself how steep the mountain is, 
and how impossible it would be to follow 
him.” 

The woman had a numerous family of 
small children, and the children hung about 
her skirts and cried for food. She had in her 
hands a pot full of round pebbles which she 
now put on the fire, and said to the children, 
“The potatoes will soon be ready.” 

Then she turned to the princess and said : 
“We are so poor that we have neither proper 
food nor sufficient clothing, and we are al- 
ways hungry and ragged. It goes to my heart 


135 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

to hear the children constantly crying for 
something to eat. So I have put the pot full 
of stones on the fire and told them the pota- 
toes will soon be ready. That will quiet them 
for a while.” 

“ Perhaps I can give them something better 
than boiled stones,” the princess said, and 
she got out her napkin and flask. 

With the help of these she furnished a feast 
to which they all sat down in great happiness. 
When the children had eaten and drunk as 
much as they wanted the princess cut them 
out some clothes with her golden scissors. 

‘‘Well,” the woman said, “since you have 
been so kind to us it would be a shame if I did 
not do all in my power to assist you to climb 
the mountain. My husband is one of the best 
blacksmiths in the world. Stay here and rest 
till he gets home, and I will have him forge 
you some claws for your hands and feet that 
will enable you to crawl and scramble up 
the steep mountain-side.” 


136 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

As soon as the blacksmith arrived he set 
to work making the claws, and next morning 
they were ready. The princess at once put 
them on, and began climbing. All that day 
and all the following night she slowly toiled 
upward until she was so tired she could 
scarce lift hand or foot and thought she must 
slip and fall down the precipitous rocks. But 
just then she reached the top of the moun- 
tain and found herself on a broad, level pla- 
teau, and near at hand was a castle which 
swarmed with workmen who were as busy 
as ants on an ant-hill. 

“What is going on here.^” the princess 
asked. 

“This is the home of an old hag who has 
bewitched King Valmon,’’ they replied. “In 
three days she will marry him, and we are 
making ready for a grand wedding feast.” 

“Can I speak with her.?^” the princess 
questioned. 

“No,” they said, “that is quite impossible. 


137 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

Then the princess sat down just outside of 
the castle, and began to clip in the air with 
her golden scissors, and the silks and satins 
flew about as thick as snowflakes. 

Soon the old hag looked forth from a near 
window, and said: “Those scissors can do 
more than all the tailors in my employ. I 
would like to buy them.” 

“They are not for sale,” the princess re- 
sponded, “but you can have them if you will 
let me visit King Valmon this evening.” 

“Very well,” the old hag said, “y^^ have 
my permission and welcome.” 

But before the princess went to the apart- 
ment of King Valmon the old hag gave him 
a sleeping draught, and he was so drowsy 
while the princess was with him that he 
could not keep his eyes open. This distressed 
her greatly, and she wept and wailed un- 
til the old hag came and ordered her out 
of the castle. 

Next day she seated herself where she 


138 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

had sat before to clip with her scissors. 
This time she poured out drink from her 
flask, and what she poured out formed a 
little brook that flowed away down the slope, 
yet the flask did not become empty. 

Presently the hag looked out of the win- 
dow, and said, ‘T would like to buy that 
flask of yours.” 

‘Tt is not for sale,” the princess said, ‘‘but 
you can have it if you will let me visit King 
Valmon this evening.” 

“Very well,” the old hag responded, “you 
have my permission and welcome.” 

But before the princess went to the apart- 
ment of King Valmon, the old hag gave him 
a sleeping draught that made him so drowsy 
he could not keep his eyes open; and though 
the princess wailed and wept while she was 
with him he paid no attention to her. How- 
ever, a workman who was engaged on some 
task in a neighboring room heard her, and 
in the morning he said to King Valmon: 


139 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

‘‘The princess who dwelt with you in your 
forest castle has come to try to set you free. 
Twice she has been allowed to spend an even- 
ing with you, but accomplished nothing be- 
cause the old hag had put you to sleep with 
a drugged drink. Beware of the wiles of the 
cunning dame, or your doom is sealed.” 

That day the princess seated herself near 
the castle once more, and this time got out 
her magic napkin, and said, “ Napkin, spread 
yourseK and be covered with dainty food.” 

At once the napkin became so large and 
the food on it was so plentiful that hundreds 
of men might have eaten and been satisfied. 
Then the old hag looked out of the window, 
and said: “Maiden, that napkin of yours 
would save the trouble and expense of much 
boiling and roasting here in my castle. Will 
you sell it?” 

“No,” the princess said, “I will not sell ‘ 
it, but I will give it to you if you will let me 
spend this evening with King Valmon.” 


140 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

"‘Very well,” the old hag said, "‘y^^ 
do so and welcome.” 

As usual the witch prepared a sleeping 
draught, but King Valmon was fully deter- 
mined not to take it, and he pretended that 
he was already asleep. She did not trust ap- 
pearances, but she took a pin and stuck it 
in his arm to make sure he was not attempt- 
ing to deceive her. Yet in spite of the pain 
he did not wince or stir, and she went away 
confident that he would not soon waken. 

But when the princess came in he greeted 
her joyfully, and they told each other all 
that had happened to them since they had 
parted, and devised a plan for getting rid of 
the old witch. By orders of King Valmon the 
carpenters early next day made a trap-door 
on the drawbridge over which the bridal 
train had to pass. The hour for the wedding 
came, and, in accord with the custom of the 
country, the bride and her friends rode at the 
head of the procession. Before they were 


141 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

aware of any danger they dropped through 
the trap-door and they were all drowned. 

Afterward King Valmon and the princess 
took all they could carry of the old hag’s gold 
and goods and returned to their own land. 
There they were married, and for the rest of 
their days they lived peacefully and happily. 





















THE BEAR AND THE LITTLE OLD 

WOMAN 






THE BEAR AND THE LITTLE 
OLD WOMAN 


T here was once a little old woman who 
lived in a cottage on the edge of a for- 
est, and one summer day she took a basket 
on her arm and went deep into the woods in 
search of wild cherries. After a time she 
found a tree loaded with ripe fruit and she 
climbed up among the branches and began 
to fill her basket. While she was thus en- 
gaged a bear happened along, and he looked 
up into the tree, and said, “Come down, 
old woman, that I may eat you.” 

“ Go along with you ! ” she retorted. “ Why 
should you want to eat a scrawny old crea- 
ture like me? Here, I will throw you one 
of my shoes to gnaw on. Be satisfied with 
that and trouble me no more.” 

So she threw down one of her shoes, and 
the bear gnawed and gnawed at it, but the 


146 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

more he gnawed the hungrier he grew. At 
last, growling with rage, he turned his eyes 
upward, and said, "‘Come down, you old 
wretch, and let me eat you.’’ 

“Just wait a little longer,” she said. “I 
want to fill my basket with cherries. Mean- 
while, you can have my other shoe to gnaw.” 

So she threw down her other shoe. But 
the bear found it no juicier than the first 
one, and he soon stopped chewing it, and 
waited as patiently as he could for the little 
old woman to descend from the tree. 

When she had cherries enough she said 
to the bear : “ Surely, you could not find much 
pleasure in eating me, who am only skin and 
bones. I invite you to go with me to my 
home, where I have a little boy and girl. 
How would they suit you?” 

“They would suit me exactly,” the bear 
replied, “and I wish you would hurry.” 

Then down came the little old woman 
out of the wild cherry tree, and went home. 



THE BEAR GNAWS THE OLD WOMAN’s SHOE 













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Fairy-Tale Bears 147 

with the bear tramping along close behind 
her. 

They arrived at the house, and the little 
old woman said: ‘‘Mr. Bear, I will tell you 
what you must do — you must wait until 
the children have had a good supper, for 
that will make them all the fatter. I will 
start preparing it at once, and you can run 
around outside to get up a better appe- 
tite.” 

This sounded reasonable, and the bear 
went out and had a lively ruii in the forest. 
By and by he returned to the cottage and 
rapped at the door. “Little woman!” he 
called, “here I am. Now bring me the 
children. I am half starved.” 

“Oho!” the little old woman responded, 
“you come too late. The boy has made the 
door fast with its stout iron bolts, and I have 
just put both the children to sleep in their 
beds. I could n’t think of waking them, and 
I am too old and feeble myself to unbolt the 


148 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

door without help. Come some other day, 
won’t you?” 

Then the bear perceived that he had been 
fooled, and he walked reluctantly away 
with drooping snout and an empty stomach. 


HOW BRUIN TRIED TO BRING REYNARD 
TO COURT 


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HOW BRUIN TRIED TO BRING 
REYNARD TO COURT 


R eynard the fox had been stealing 
chickens, and complaint of his thiev- 
ing had reached the king. The king was 
wroth and he declared that Reynard should 
be punished, and he despatched Bruin the 
bear to summon the marauder to court to 
answer for his crimes. 

Away went Bruin the next morning. He 
passed through a dark forest and over a high 
mountain and arrived at Reynard’s castle. 
The castle gates were shut and locked, and 
after Bruin had knocked he sat down and 
called in a loud voice: “Sir Reynard, are you 
at home.^ I am Bruin, your kinsman. The 
king has sent me to summon you to court 
to answer many foul accusations made 
against you, and he has vowed that if you do 
not come your life shall be forfeited and your 


152 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

goods confiscated. Therefore, I advise you 
to return to the court with me and avoid the 
calamity that otherwise will fall on you.” 

Reynard was lying in the sun just inside 
of the gate. After meditating for a while on 
the bear’s words he opened the gate and 
said: ‘‘Dear Uncle Bruin, you are exceed- 
ingly welcojne. Pardon my slowness in re- 
sponding to your knock, but I was saying 
my evening player, and devotions must not 
be neglected. I wonder that the king should 
have sent you on such a long weary journey. 
Your sweat and toil far exceed the value of 
what you can accomplish. Truly, if you had 
not come, I would to-morrow have been at 
the court of my own accord. I had intended to 
go thither some time ago, but of late I have 
abstained from eating flesh, and the strange 
new food of which I have partaken has made 
me ill.” 

“Alas! dear nephew,” the bear responded, 
“what food is it that so troubles you.^^” 


153 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

‘‘Why,” the fox said, “it is an ordinary 
sort of food such as poor folk eat from neces- 
sity. In short, it is honey, and, urged by 
hunger, I ate too freely.” 

“Ha!” Bruin exclaimed, “honey? Do you 
show such slight respect for that, nephew? 
It is food fit for the greatest monarch in the 
world. Give me a chance to feast on some 
of that honey, and I will be your servant 
everlastingly.” 

“Surely, uncle,” the fox said, “you jest 
with me.” 

“Jest with you!” Bruin cried. “I never 
was in more serious earnest.” 

“Well, then,” the fox responded, “I will 
take you where there is so much honey that 
ten of you would not be able to devour it 
at a meal. It is in the farmyard of a man 
named Lanfert who 'dwells not far away. 
Let us go thither at once.” 

The bear laughed for pleasure, and thanked 
the fox heartily for his kindness. They set 


154 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

out together and soon came in sight of 
Lanfert’s house. This Lanfert was a stout 
and lusty carpenter, and a few days pre- 
vious he had brought into his yard a great 
oak log and started to split it. He had driven 
in two thick wedges which had opened a 
wide cleft. The fox pointed to the partially 
split oak, and said, ‘‘Dear uncle, there is 
an enormous amount of honey in that tree. 
You have only to thrust in your head, and 
you can eat to your heart’s content. But 
I beg you to be discreet in your feasting, for 
a surfeit is dangerous.” 

“Trouble not yourself on that score. 
Nephew Reynard,” the bear said, and he 
hurried to the log and thrust his head deep 
into the cleft. 

Immediately the fox knocked out the 
wedges and the bear was fast caught. Bruin 
began to whine and howl and scratch and 
tumble about, and the fox said mockingly: 
“ Is the honey good, uncle.^^ Eat not too much. 


155 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

I beseech you, lest it should make you sick 
and hinder your journey to the court/’ 
Then the fox went away toward his castle. 
By this time the noise in the yard had 
brought Lanfert out of the house. He was 
greatly amazed to find a bear there in such 
a plight, and when he saw how securely the 
beast was caught, he ran and invited the 
neighbors to come and see the sight. The 
news was soon known through all the town, 
and every one from the children up to the 
old men and women who had not a tooth in 
their heads ran toLanfert’s yard, armed with 
whips, rakes, brooms, and whatever they 
could lay their hands on. Dame Jullock, the 
minister’s wife, brought her distaff, for she 
happened to be spinning at the time. This 
army put Bruin into a great fright, and when 
he heard the clamor of their approach he 
made a mighty effort and wrenched himself 
free, though not without much damage to 
his scalp and ears. The villagers were ap- 


156 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

preaching from all directions, and before 
Bruin could determine which way to fly, 
Farmer Lanfert and the minister and the 
whole parish were assailing him with their 
cudgels. Even Bertolf with the wooden leg 
was there, and he used his cane as a weapon 
and pounded the bear as vigorously as any 
of the rest. 

Presently Bruin made a sudden rush, got 
out of the crowd, and ran toward an adja- 
cent river. It happened that a group of 
women, who had withdrawn from the fray 
to look on and recover their breath, stood at 
the edge of the river bank, and the bear in 
his terrified flight collided with some of them 
and knocked them into the water. Among 
these unfortunates was the parson’s wife, 
and the parson began shouting: “Help! oh 
help! Dame Jullock is drowning!” 

When the people heard this they paid no 
more attention to the bear and assisted to 
rescue the woman from the river. That 


Fairy-Tale Bears 157 

done, the minister looked to see what had 
become of the bear, and found that he was 
swimming away as fast as he could. “Turn, 
villain,” the preacher cried in a rage, running 
along the bank and brandishing a stick he 
had in his hand; “come back that I may be 
revenged on you.” 

But Bruin did not care to accept that sort 
of an invitation. He swam with the current, 
and at last, when he was certain that he was 
beyond pursuit, he came to land, groaning, 
sighing, and gasping as if he was about to 
expire. 

While all these things were happening, 
the fox, on his way home, stole a fat hen, 
threw her over his shoulder, and ran along 
a bypath so that no one would see him. The 
path took him to the river, and as he came to 
the edge of the bank he was saying to him- 
self : “ My fortune is as I wished it ; for Bruin, 
the greatest enemy I had at court, is undoubt- 
edly by this time dead.” 


158 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

Just then he espied Bruin on the shore be- 
low, and changed the tenor of his remarks. 
“What a silly fool that Lanfert the carpenter 
must be,” the fox grumbled, “to lose such 
good meat — meat that is so fat and whole- 
some, and that was delivered into his hand 
with no trouble on his part. Any other man 
would have been quick to take advantage of 
the luck he has neglected.” 

But he soon ceased his chiding and fret- 
ting, and in a louder voice addressed the 
bear. “Sir,” he said scornfully, “God pro- 
tect you!” 

“O you foul red villain,” the bear mut- 
tered, “what impudence is like to this?” 

The fox went on speaking. “Did you pay 
Lanfert for the honey, uncle?” he said. “If 
you have forgotten to do so it will bring 
you disgrace, and rather than see you dis- 
graced I will pay for the honey myself. It 
was excellent, was it not, and I know where 
much more can be had at the same price.” 


159 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

These mocking words made the bear ex- 
ceedingly angry, but because he could not 
take revenge, he made no response and let 
Reynard talk on as he pleased. After a short 
rest Bruin plunged again into the stream and 
swam down and landed on the other side. 
Thence he made his way back to the court, 
meditating with grief on his misfortunes. 

The king was very wroth when he saw how 
his messenger had been treated, and swore 
to punish the fox in such a manner as would 
make all traitors tremble. And yet I believe 
that Reynard still runs free in the forest, 
and dwells safely in the old castle beyond the 
mountain. 


















THE BEES AND THE BEARS 




THE BEES AND THE BEARS 


T here was a time when the honey bees 
had no stings and were as harmless as 
houseflies. They were just as industrious as 
they are now, but they had no end of trouble, 
for they could not defend their honey from 
the many creatures that loved it and stole 
it at every opportunity. 

In vain they hid their comb among the 
crannies of lofty cliffs and far up in tall 
hollow trees. Birds with long beaks would 
suck out the honey, the squirrels were con- 
stantly stealing it, and, worst of all, the bears 
were so clever in getting it, no matter where 
it was hidden, that very little escaped them. 
Whole swarms of bees often starved in the 
long winter because their store of food had 
been plundered. 

At last, when they had about given up hope 
that any of them could survive much longer. 


164 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

they heard that the great wizard Wakonda 
was traveling through the country. He had 
left his beautiful home at Spirit Lake and 
was making this journey to help any who 
were in real distress. 

So the bees resolved to make known their 
woes to him. They sent messengers to meet 
him and a present of delicious honey which 
some of them had succeeded in keeping out 
of the w^y of their enemies. Wakonda re- 
ceived the messengers very graciously, en- 
joyed the honey, and listened with indigna- 
tion to their tales of persecution. 

For a time he was uncertain how to help 
the industrious little creatures, and he asked 
them to return three days later, when he 
would announce just what he would do for 
them. The messengers went away greatly 
delighted and told the news not only to their 
own people but to their cousins, the wasps, 
hornets, and bumblebees. 

On the appointed day the bees were on 


Fairy-Tale Bears 165 

hand, and so were their cousins. Wakonda 
regarded the latter rather suspiciously, but 
the bees commended them to him, and he 
gave them all a friendly welcome. Then he 
made a speech and praised the bees for their 
industry in gathering food during the sum- 
mer to eat in the long cold winter. He ended 
by giving them the same sort of weapons 
that their cousins possessed. 

The bees presently flew away, and now they 
engaged in honey-storing more earnestly 
then ever. Not long afterward a couple of 
bears, who were roaming through the forest, 
saw some of the bees going in and out of a 
knothole in a big tree. Up climbed the bears 
with saucy assurance, expecting to put their 
paws into the hole and pull out the sweet 
treasure. But before they had reached their 
goal the bees came forth in great numbers 
and attacked them. The little creatures did 
not fly around now, in a helpless panic, as 
they did formerly, but at once attacked their 


166 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

enemies. They stung the marauders about 
their eyes and lips, and wherever else they 
could reach them with their terrible new 
weapons. 

The bears could not comprehend this un- 
foreseen ability of the bees to fight. They 
tried to climb higher, but all the time the 
insects returning from gathering honey in- 
creased the number of their assailants. At 
length the bears, howling with rage and ter- 
ror, gave up their effort, scrambled back to 
the ground, and ran away. 

Other swarms served the enemies who 
would rob them in the same way. They were 
not always equally successful in defending 
their honey stores, but never since has there 
been any danger that the bees would all per- 
ish for lack of food. 


BRUIN’S RIDE 





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BRUIN’S RIDE 


O NCE upon a time there was a farmer 
who drove far up on the mountain side 
with his sledge to get a load of leaves for 
stable litter to keep his cattle warm in the 
winter. When he got to where the leaves were 
plentiful he backed his sledge close up to a 
convenient bank and began to pitch them 
on to the sledge. 

But in the midst of the leaves lay a bear 
who had curled up there to sleep through 
the winter. Soon he felt the man trampling 
about and when the man’s back chanced 
to be turned, he made a sudden leap, and 
landed right on the sledge. 

The horse got wind of Bruin, and was so 
frightened he ran off down the descent toward 
home ten times faster than he had come up, 
and he carried the bear along as a passenger. 
Bruin was not lacking in courage, but such 


170 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

a ride made him anxious, to say the least. 
There he sat holding on as well as he could, 
looking timidly this way and that as he sped 
along in the hope that he might see some 
place where he could throw himself off with 
safety. However, he dared not risk a tum- 
ble. 

When he had gone some distance he met 
a peddler, who said: “Surely, that is the 
sheriff. Whither can he be going? He must 
be journeying far and have little time to 
spare, he drives so fast.” 

As for Bruin, he spoke never a word. He 
had all he could do to hold on. 

A little farther along he met a beggar 
woman, who said, “Ha! that is the parson.” 

She courtesied and begged for a penny 
in God’s name. But Bruin said never a word 
and gave all his energy to sticking fast, while 
he continued his wild flight. 

Shortly afterward he met Reynard the 
fox. “Ho, ho!” Reynard exclaimed, “here 



THE BEGGAR WOMAN ASKS FOR A PENNY 



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171 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

is Bruin out taking a ride ! ” Then he shouted, 
“Stop a moment, and let me ride with you.” 

But Bruin made no reply, He simply held 
on like grim death while the horse ran as 
fast as he could lay hoofs to the ground. 

“All right!” Reynard screamed, “if you 
won’t take me with you, I tell you that 
although you now travel as if you were a 
gentleman in your furs, I don’t doubt that 
you’ll come to some bad end for driving so 
like a daredevil.” 

But Bruin heard none of Reynard’s ill- 
natured remarks. The horse galloped on 
until he got to the farm, and without slack- 
ening his mad pace dashed into the open 
stable door. The result was that his har- 
ness was torn off, the sledge came to a sudden 
stop, and Bruin was thrown against the side 
of the stable and killed. 

All this time the man who owned the sledge 
knew nothing of what had happened. He 
continued to pitch forkful after forkful of 


172 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

leaves down the bank; but when he thought 
he had enough and went to tie the leaves on 
the sledge, to prevent them from slipping 
off on the journey home, he could find neither 
sledge nor horse. So he hurried along the 
road hoping that the horse had only strayed 
quietly a little way in search of food. 

After a while he met the peddler. ‘‘Have 
you seen my horse and sledge.^” he asked. 

“No,” the peddler replied, “but I met 
the sheriff not - long ago, and he drove so 
fast I feel sure he w^s hastening to arrest 
some criminal.” 

The man went on and soon met the beg- 
gar-woman. “Have you seen my horse and 
sledge.^” he asked. 

“No,” the beggar-woman answered, “but 
I met the parson down yonder. He must 
have some important errand, else he would 
not have driven so fast. I noticed that he 
had a borrowed horse.” 

The man went on and presently met the 


173 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

fox. “Have you seen my horse and sledge.^” 
he questioned. 

“ Yes, I have,” the fox said, “ and my neigh- 
bor Bruin was riding on the sledge and going 
as if he was running away with stolen prop- 
erty.” 

“The rascal!” the farmer exclaimed, 
“perdition take him! He’ll ruin the horse 
with his wild driving.” 

“If he does that,” the fox said, “ I advise 
you to kill him, take off his skin, and roast 
him in your fireplace. But don’t forget that 
you are indebted to me for the information 
I have given you. If your horse comes out 
all right I think you ought to reward me by 
driving back here with your sledge and giv- 
ing me a lift over the mountain. I have a 
fancy to see how it feels to ride instead of 
going on foot.” 

“Well,” the man said, “I’ll consider it. 
Meet me at this spot to-morrow morning.” 

He was sure, however, that Reynard was 


174 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

designing to play oflF some of his tricks on 
him, and when he returned to meet the sly 
fox the next day he carried a loaded gun on 
his sledge. Instead of getting a ride, Rey- 
nard got a charge of shot that ended his life. 
So the farmer secured both a bear skin and 
a fox skin. 


THE BEAR AND THE TAILOR 



THE BEAR AND THE TAILOR 


O NCE upon a time there was an exceed- 
ingly proud princess who asked a riddle 
of every suitor for her hand. She announced 
publicly that all comers were welcome to 
try their skill, and that whoever could solve 
her riddle should be her husband. But for a 
long time every man who presented himself 
failed to answer rightly, and was sent away 
with scorn and derision. 

It so happened that three tailors, who were 
traveling together, came to the royal city, 
and they soon heard all about the proud 
princess and her riddle, and were disposed to 
try their luck at winning her. The older two 
were confident they would be successful 
because they had made so many fine and 
strong stitches with never a wrong one. 
Surely, they could not fail to do the right 
thing here, too. The third tailor was a lazy 


178 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

young scamp who did not even understand 
his own trade, but he thought that luck would 
befriend him, just this once, for if it did not, 
what was to become of him? 

The two others said to him: “You had 
better keep away. You ’ll never succeed with 
your small allowance of brains.” 

But the youth was not to be daunted, and 
said he had set his mind on solving the 
riddle and meant to shift for himself. So he 
marched off as if the whole world belonged 
to him. 

The three tailors presented themselves 
before the princess and told her they had 
come to guess her riddle. Then, with a low 
bow, the two elder tailors said, “Here, at 
last, are the right men, each with an under- 
standing so fine you could almost thread a 
needle with it.” 

“Well,” the princess responded, “you 
notice that my hair is draped so you cannot 
see it, but I would have you know that it is 


179 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

of two different colors, and you must tell me 
what those colors are. That is my riddle.” 

“Your question is more easily answered 
than I expected,” the oldest tailor said. “ No 
doubt your hair is black and white like the 
cloth we call pepper and salt.” 

“Wrong,” the princess announced. 

“If your hair is not black and white,” the 
second tailor said, “ I am confident that it is 
red and brown like my father’s Sunday coat.” 

“Wrong again,” the princess said. “Now 
let the third speak. I see he thinks he knows 
all about it.” 

The young tailor stepped forward, bold 
as brass, and said, “The princess has gold 
and silver hair on her head, and those are 
the two colors.” 

On hearing this, the princess turned pale 
and almost fainted; for the young tailor had 
hit the mark, and she had firmly believed that 
not a soul could guess her riddle. As soon 
as she recovered herself, she said: “Don’t 


180 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

fancy that ^ou have won me yet. There is 
something else you must do. In the stable 
is a bear with which you must spend the 
night. If I find that you are still alive when 
I get up in the morning, you shall marry 
me.” 

She fully expected to rid herself of the 
tailor in this way, for the bear had never 
left any one alive who had once come within 
reach of his claws. The tailor, however, had 
no notion of being scared, but said cheerily, 
“Bravely ventured is half won.” 

When evening came he was taken to the 
stable. The bear at once sprang toward him 
to give him a warm welcome with his great 
paws. “Gently, gently,” the tailor said, “I 
must teach you manners.” 

Out of his pockets he took some walnuts 
which he began cracking with his teeth and 
eating as though he had not a care in the 
world. This made the bear long for some nuts 
himself. The tailor thrust his hand into his 


181 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

pocket, and drew forth, not a nut, but a 
pebble of much the same size and shape. He 
gave it to the bear, who put it in his mouth, 
but try as he might he could not crack it. 
“Dear me,” he said, “what a blockhead I 
must be! I can’t even crack a nut. Will you 
crack it for me.^” he said to the tailor. 

“You’re a nice sort of fellow,” the tailor 
said. “The idea of having those great jaws 
and not being able to crack a walnut!” 

So saying, he slyly substituted a nut for 
the pebble and soon cracked it. 

“Let me try again,” the bear said. “The 
thing looks so easy as you do it that I think 
I must be able to manage it myself.” 

The tailor gave him the pebble again, and 
the bear bit and gnawed away as hard as he 
could, but all to no purpose. 

Presently the tailor produced a fiddle from 
under his coat and began playing on it. The 
tune was so merry that the bear could not help 
dancing, and after he had danced for some 


182 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

time he was so pleased that he asked the tai- 
lor if it was easy to learn the art of fiddling. 

^‘Why, it’s like child’s play,” the tailor 
said. "‘Look here; you press the strings with 
the fingers of the left hand, and draw the 
bow across the strings with the right hand, 
so. Then the tune goes up and down — 
tra-la-la-la-la ! ” 

“Oh!” the bear cried, “I wish I could 
play like that. Then I could dance when- 
ever I felt disposed to do so. Will you give 
me some lessons 

“Certainly,” the tailor said, “if you will 
do your best to learn. But let me look at 
your paws. Dear me ! your nails are terribly 
long. I must cut them before you can handle 
a fiddle.” 

In a corner of the stable was a wooden 
vise, and he had the bear put his paws in it, 
and screwed them fast. “Now wait while I 
fetch my scissors,” he said, and he lay down 
in a corner and went to sleep. 


183 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

The bear was very uncomfortable, and he 
groaned and growled so loudly that he was 
heard by the princess in her room in the pal- 
ace. She thought he was roaring with delight 
as he destroyed the tailor. Next morning she 
rose feeling quite cheerful and free from care, 
but when she glanced out toward the stable 
there stood the tailor in front of the door 
looking as fresh and lively as a fish in the 
water. She was much disturbed, but her 
promise to marry him had been made pub- 
licly, and the promise could not be broken 
without disgracing her. So the king ordered 
out the state coach to take her and the tailor 
to church to be married. 

As they were starting, the other two tailors, 
who were envious of the younger one’s good 
fortune, went to the stable and released the 
bear from the vise. Immediately the beast 
gave chase to the carriage, foaming at the 
mouth with rage. The princess heard him 
coming, puffing and growling, and she was 


184 


Fairy-Tale Bears 

much frightened. ‘‘Oh dear!” she cried, 
“the bear is after us!” 

But the tailor was not alarmed in the least. 
He stood on his head, stuck his legs out of the 
carriage window, and shouted to the bear: 
“Do you see this vise? If you don’t go back 
this minute I’ll screw you tight into it.” 

The bear wanted nothing more to do with 
a vise, and he turned round and ran off as 
fast as he could go, while the carriage con- 
tinued its journey to the church. There the 
tailor and the princess were married, and he 
lived with her afterward many years as 
merry as a lark. 

Whoever does not believe this story must 
pay a dollar. 


THE END 



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